Inside the massive palace that housed Quinlan, Mest and Kirlia teleported to a corner of a hallway. Taking a brief look around, Mest found that they had solitude for the time being.

Taking a glance over his shoulder, Mest heard some voices. Right around the corner was a narrow hallway that led to a set of double doors decorated in some form of black material similar to metal. In front of were two guard Pokémon that seemed to be chatting idly.

'Guess that's the door Kirlia was talking about. He wasn't kidding…something about that definitely feels off.' Mest narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He turned towards Kirlia in confirmation. "This what you were talking about?"

"Uh-huh." Kirlia nodded.

Mest turned his focus back around the corner. Taking another glance at who was guarding the front of the reinforced doors, he recognized the two Pokémon from the PokeDex he memorized. The one on the right was a Torkoal, and on the left was a Duosion.

"I always hate these shifts. I swear, standing here for three hours makes my gel all stale." The Duosion complained, striking a conversation with the Torkoal.

"Yeah, that's true. It's pretty boring, but at least it's peaceful, too." The Torkoal chimed. "But hey, a little free time for us."

"That's true. I could take a nap right now and actually get away with it." Duosion boasted, chuckling.

"Sure, I won't stop you…unless you want to get the axe like that other guy the other day."

"He was a Snorlax, sleeping is pretty much what he does anyway." Duosion shot a glance at the door behind them. "But still, what do you think is behind these doors? Must be a big deal if it's this reinforced with magic-sealing stone."

Torkoal turned to give the door a glance as well. "To be frank…I'm not even sure I wanna know. I know we got special Pokémon that come in and out during the night shifts, but that's all. At least from what I heard from one of our guys."

"But His Majesty routinely comes to this chamber, doesn't he?"

"That's what I've heard, too, but I also heard that hardly anyone sees him leave his room, aside from going out to the balcony. He's really hard to figure out."

"Yeah, but he's human. What do you expect?" Torkoal pointed out.

Their conversation seemed idle for the sake of passing time, but Mest was all-ears as he grew more suspicious by the second.

'Even they don't know what's behind those doors? It's gotta be top-secret if His Majesty slips in under cover around here.' Mest grew an unintended chill down his spine. 'I need to wrap this up. There's no time to waste.'

He turned towards Kirlia, who looked so tempted to bang his head against the wall. He would have if Mest hadn't stopped him with a simple shake of his head. They looked left and right for assurance if anyone else was going to intrude on them. Once the coast was clear, Mest teleported them out of sight.

A moment later, Mest and Kirlia found themselves on the other side of the dark doors. Everything around them was so dark, save for the purplish luminescent lacrima light that brightened up the open floor ahead of them.

'The hell is this place? Another dungeon?' Mest looked around, noting how spacious the domain was. It looked more like an open outpost platform that was intended to look over something. When he looked down at his feet, he noticed how the floor wasn't made of stone, but welded metal.

The chill he felt before suddenly intensified.

'What the hell is going on around here…?' Mest kept asking questions to himself, until he saw a small flash. 'What…?'

The two noticed the open floor ahead of them giving off small flashes of light inconsistently. One moment they were white, then the next was red, and yellow. Each flash was accompanied by the sounds of crackling or ruptures of some kind. They could have misheard things, but they could have sworn there was the sound of…thudding?

"Gngh!" A small grunt was heard.

"C'mon, again!" A gruff voice shouted.

'Someone's here?' Mest's immediate reaction was to rush over towards the edge of the grating and see what was happening. When he and Kirlia came to a halt on the edge of the metal platform, the only thing stopping them from falling over was the medium-sized bars.

The instant they saw what was below, Mest's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking at what he saw. The confusion he felt a moment ago was erased and replaced with a mixture of both utter shock and horror.

"What the hell…?"


The streets of Pokétopia were brimming in chaotic peril. Even when the rampage and carnage had only begun barely an hour ago, it looked like it had yet to fully blossom.

Everywhere as far as the eye could see, there were humans, Pokémon, and a mixture of both fighting themselves over even trivial matters. Some over recently robbed food, and others over furniture. Others just like to break things just to stir the damn pot! But for the most part, it looked like the majority of humans and Pokémon were fighting against each other for the sake of their security in this crumbling society.

With Quinlan's declaration, even the lazier Pokémon had gotten active. A financial incentive such as that would make any Pokémon want to get up for once and get active.

In the midst of this carnage, a guy was blasted off his feet by a jet of bubbles. He flew off the ground and slammed onto his back in the pavement. Harrison turned around to find the guy laying on his back in recoil of the harsh fall.

"Hey man, you good?!" he shouted down at him in worry.

The guy strained incredulously as he barely kept an eye open. He glanced up at Harrison as he was trying to say something.

'He looks beat. This is bad.' Harrison thought.

"Behind…you…" the injured man wheezed.

"What…?" Harrison barely heard him, but he caught on fast when he glanced over his shoulder. He pulled himself to the side just in time, a streaky beam of energy barely missing the bridge of his nose. He adjusted his footing and turned towards his attacker, who was none other than his Grumpig.

He fiendishly snorted. "Make this easy for yourself already, would ya? And stop squirming around so much!"

"I don't think so, you fat pig!" Harrison raised his hands, coated in crackling blue static.

With a sudden blast of lightning shot from his hands, Grumpig snorted before he lowered his head, putting his fingers up to the black pearls on his forehead. An orb of psychokinetic energy flourished before it shot in another Psybeam at the lightning. The two attacks met centerfield, resulting in an abrupt implosion that blinded both Harrison and Grumpig.

When it faded, Harrison moved his arm that he shielded his face with to find Grumpig closing the gap between them, his forehead giving off a distorted, blue veil as he tackled head-first into Harrison's chest. The impact was strong enough to make Harrison fly off his feet and slam on his back with a pained thud.

Grumpig snorted in delight. "Phew, now that's what I call a rush!"

Harrison gnashed his teeth as he made an attempt to get back to his feet. He put a hand on his chest – which ached like burning hell – and shot Grumpig a harsh look. "You must really want that bounty cash if you're actually trying this hard…" he wheezed.

"You know it, buddy!" Grumpig didn't bother denying the accusation. "And once I get enough wrangled in, I'm gonna stuff my face like there's no tomorrow!"

Harrison frowned, scoffing in distaste. "Of course, like I expect anything else from you. That's all you've ever done. Meanwhile, my old man is teaching me to manage the stadium…" He shot a glance at the ruins of the stadium. "Or was."

"Yeah, that sure sucks. But look at it this way, you stay as my human, you won't have to worry about a job. You can just eat food behind a bar and not have to worry about 'what ifs' or your future." Grumpig countered. "As for me, those unemployment checks ain't gonna last forever. That's a concern you don't have to worry about at least."

"You worried that badly…" Harrison brought his left arm around, crackling lightning into it. "Then get a job!"

"Why don't you make me!" Grumpig countered by conjuring several crystalized energy spheres around him.

Once again, Harrison and Grumpig fired their attacks at each other, blue lightning prods streaming to meet the Power Gem. The two attacks met in a flashy, dazzling array of blue and purple crackling fireworks.

Just as Harrison was feeling confident with the stalemate buying him time to prepare an attack, those thoughts were dashed when he saw one stray gem continue its course after him. With him still reeling from the earlier, he didn't have the reflexes to dodge it this time.

'Crap! This is gonna hurt!'

Suddenly, a stray rush of water cut off the gem's course, shattering it to speckled fragments in front of Harrison's eyes. The man looked completely stunned as that stray blow saved his skin and a possible concussion.

"Who just…?!" When he turned and saw who shot that spell, his eyes widened. "Hey, you're that…"

The platinum-blonde girl, the very same one he met in the dungeon earlier, hopped to his side. Behind her was a Red Flower Florges that seemed very displeased.

"Sorry about that!" the girl quipped.

Harrison managed a small grin. "No complaints here. Heads up!" He charged up lightning in his hands, turning it into the girl's direction.

The platinum-blonde's eyes widened when she realized what he was doing. She ducked and moved out of the way as Harrison fired another blue lightning blast at the Florges when she spread her arms, expelling a pink wind. The two attacks met and surged until they diffused to thin air, leaving only faint friction in the air.

"Hey, you good?" Harrison asked the girl, earning a nod.

"Yeah, I think so."

The two found themselves back-to-back with each other. They both faced their respective Pokémon as they eventually caught up to them.

"Wasn't expecting company while handling business. I try to be gentle with girls around me." Harrison chimed. He glanced back at her. "Hey, you got a name?"

"It's Mable." The platinum-blonde, now known as Mable, responded, never taking her eyes off Florges' begrudging glare.

"Harrison. But my friends call me I's." Harrison introduced himself.

"I's?"

"Yeah, short and punctual." He started gathering lightning again as he glared at Grumpig. "Anyways, thanks for the help. Damn, of all the times for that pink-headed pyro to run off…where the hell he go, anyway?"

"I'm not sure who you're talking about, but we've got bigger problems to worry about." Mable said, eyeing Florges as a small blue magic seal appeared in her palm.

Harrison frowned. "Yeah, you're right."

The two braced themselves as they were left with their own battles in the midst of the ensuing chaos.


Natsu was frustrated. He couldn't be anymore frustrated if he tried…okay, he could, but he didn't have the time to stand around to complain. He was in a wild chase throughout the entire city, making sure to keep up with the thieving Ambipom that was absconding with his signature scarf.

"Damnit…JUST GET BACK HERE WITH MY SCARF!" Natsu shouted as he raced down a narrow alleyway. "I'M GONNA BURN YOUR FUR OFF IF YOU DON'T!"

Amaryllis hollered as she raced ahead of him, looking back with a smug sneer. "You'll have to catch me first~!" She teased, pulling down an eyelid and blowing a raspberry at the enraged Dragon Slayer.

"Why you…!" Natsu planted his feet firmly on the ground. He exerted flames that exploded beneath him, propelling him in an explosive lunge after his prey.

Amaryllis heard the explosion and looked back. To her surprise, she saw the pink-haired boy beaming after her like a missile. In a show of acrobatics, she used her twin tails and pressed on the ground to spring herself in a somersault. Natsu bolted right under her as she flipped overhead and continued until he smashed into a dead-end of the alley face-first. He struck the concrete so hard that it cracked from impact.

As he muffled groans and his body twitched in pain, Amaryllis flipped onto the ground looked back at him. "Whoopsies, looks like someone forgot to look before they leaped." She sneered. "Oh-oh-ah! You'll have to do better than that~!"

She suddenly turned and raced down an adjacent alley on her right. Meanwhile, Natsu's body slowly slid down to the ground with a thud.

"Natsu!" Happy flew through the alley, with Charmeleon, Darumaka, and Tyrunt in tow. As soon as they caught up, the three Pokémon were given a moment to catch their breath.

Happy frowned, seeing Natsu's crippled state. "Hey, you okay pal?"

"Is that you humans call when you hit a wall?" Charmeleon inquired.

"It's really more metaphorical than literal." Happy chimed. He tilted his head at Natsu's current state. "Although in Natsu's case, guess metaphorical doesn't hold up well as actual ones."

It took a minute for the Dragon Slayer to recover from recoil and push himself off the ground. He shook his head and looked to find Amaryllis absent.

"Damn monkey, that was a dirty trick!" he hissed.

"Natsu, take it easy!" Charmeleon insisted, his tone troubled. "Maybe we should find another way to get her attention."

Natsu didn't bother. He sniffed the air and noticed the fresh scent of the Ambipom heading down the adjacent alley. 'That way!'

"Sorry guys, but we don't got time for that. Don't forget, once a dragon's nose is locked onto ya…" He crouched as his feet ignited with explosive flames. With a loud eruption, he jettisoned through the narrow passage. "There's no escaping him! Hurry up, guys!"

"Natsu, wait-!" Happy reached out, but his partner was already far too gone. He frowned heavily. "There he goes again. Geez, he must really be mad."

"That's saying something." Charmeleon sighed. "Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy glided down and grabbed Charmeleon by his back. "Hold on tight!" With a sudden burst of speed, the two jettisoned after Natsu's trail to catch up with said mage.

"Hey, c'mon! What about us?!" Darumaka shouted.

"Tyrunt wants a break!" Tyrunt whined.

Darumaka kicked the air, looking more pissed than upset. "Oh~! I hate being left like this! Makes me so mad I can just…GRAH!"

With a literal fire in his belly, Darumaka bolted down the alleyway at high speed. Tyrunt, begrudgingly, had no choice but to follow in his ally's dust.

Meanwhile, Natsu continued beaming through the alley until his flame's propulsion fizzled out. He broke to a tumble roll and kept in a full-speed sprint towards Amaryllis, who was closing in on the open street ahead, where there were numerous other Pokémon and humans.

"Oh no you don't…you're not getting away from me that easily!" He picked up greater speed and beelined towards the Ambipom.

Amaryllis hollered as she sprinted towards the alleyway's end, breaching to the open. She didn't slow down even for a second as she made a rush through the mixed bedlam of spells and attacks that were being thrown at the opposite species. She narrowly missed a blast of lightning from above, and flipped over a rush of horizontal pebbles. She spared no expense at her display of acrobatics as she nimbly evaded attacks only to get to the other side.

When she finally did, she finally had a little breathing room to relax. She looked over her shoulder to see the minefield of spells and populace that were covering up her tracks. She couldn't help but let out a sneer.

"Hehe, well that was fun. Had me on the run there for a while." She turned away. "Now, where else are those other intruders at-!"

Suddenly, the sounds of what felt like a rampaging Tauros stampeded from behind. Amaryllis frowned and blinked in confusion. When she turned around, her jaw nearly dislodged in shock when she saw dozens of people and Pokémon being blown off their feet as something bulldozed in a straight path towards her.

"W-WHAT!?"

"GRRRRAAAAH!" Natsu roared ferociously, charging head-on and blowing the bystander Pokémon, and partially people, out of his line of destruction. The ones that were spared could only watch in a mixture of confusion and fear as they watched the literal one-man army move the likes of even a Rhydon aside like a plastic toy.

For a moment, Amaryllis looked genuinely surprised. She bolted into the nearest alleyway to continue the chase. Natsu didn't hesitate to follow her with an enraged fury in his glare.

"Geez, what is this guy?! A freaking Tauros in a body suit or what?!" Amaryllis hollered.

The gap was gradually closing, but Amaryllis still had a lead. When she saw trash cans up ahead, she jumped over them and twisted her body, hitting them with her tails. Trash fell to the ground in an attempt to slow down Natsu, but that didn't deter him so easily.

Instead, while still accelerating, Natsu did a handstand, and erupted flames that propelled him over the debris field. He twisted himself in midair and put his hands behind his back, expelling hot flames that thrust him like a rocket after Amaryllis. This only made Amaryllis panic.

"Agility!"

Her body suddenly was outlined in a red aura as her Speed sharply increased. "GOTCHA!" Natsu's fist slugged forward, but missed when Amaryllis spurred out of sight. "What the…?!"

"Oh-oh-ah-ah! So close, yet so far!" Amaryllis' voice echoed through the alleyway.

Natsu looked up, finding the Ambipom swinging from windowsills and fire escapes. She moved so fast and made quick leaps that it was like looking at a gymnast in their element. The speedy monkey kept flipping and jumping at a higher elevation that Natsu wouldn't be able to reach normally.

The sight infuriated him to where he balled his fists in writhing spite.

"Oh, what's the matter? Don't tell me you're out of steam so soon!" Amaryllis chimed in between jumps. "Guess you don't want your scarf back after all~!"

Natsu was quiet. Instead, his eyes traced the sporadic swings that she was using to mess with him. His sharp eyes and battle-edged mind was quick to catch onto something that not even Amaryllis was prepared for.

'There!'

Natsu made an "O" with his thumb and index finger and blew through it. A thin but very hot stream of fire shot through the alley in Amaryllis' direction. The fiery stream suddenly started swerving like a serpentine dragon, snaking through the alley in various direction towards Amaryllis.

As Amaryllis was in the midst of jumping towards a fire escape, her path was blocked off when a swerving jet of flames flanked her, intercepting the hand and making her pull away. "EEK! Hot!" She pulled away from the sudden rope of fire and found herself falling backwards towards the ground below.

'He actually predicted where I was gonna land?!' She would have been amused if it wasn't for her in freefall.

"Now we gotcha!" Natsu pointed at her. "Now guys!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy suddenly sped past Natsu, Charmeleon still held onto.

"Our turn!" Charmeleon hollered as his body was cloaked in searing flames. With Happy bolting him at the Ambipom, it only increased their speed further. "Flame Charge!"

Amaryllis was in no position to maneuver in midair. She felt the head-on impact of flames and Charmeleon's body striking her in the stomach. The impact was so strong that it sent her whistling and screeching skyward to the adjacent building's roof with an echoing thud.

"About damn time she stopped running!" Natsu huffed. He turned towards Happy and Charmeleon. "Nice job, guys."

Charmeleon's body was enveloped in a red aura, his Speed increasing as he glanced back. "That was a neat move you did. How'd you do that?"

Natsu smirked. "Been training."

"It's true. Better flame control makes it a lot sneakier and precise, huh." Happy mused.

"Now then…" Natsu looked up at the building Amaryllis fell up towards. He spread his legs and made another burst of flames that skyrocketed him through the air after her. Happy carried Charmeleon as they followed behind.


The rooftop that Amaryllis landed on was notably flat and large. Its roof was sturdy, and there was plenty of open space to run around, save for the ventilation grating and the doorway that led to the floors down below.

Amaryllis laid on her back, feeling herself come around after such a sudden sucker punch to her stomach. "Owww…I'm gonna feel that one in the morning…"

A loud thud, followed by a burst of heat, made Amaryllis nearly jump upright. She turned and saw a very angry Natsu standing meters away, with Charmeleon beside him. She could tell from their expressions that they were pissed.

"Heh, you certainly know how to get this 'mon's heart racing. Hadn't gotten that spooked in a while." Amaryllis admitted. "You're definitely a good cut."

Natsu was in no such mood for aesthetics. He held up a fist of flames in a threat. "Last chance, buddy. The scarf…or your furry behind."

Amaryllis got herself upright, raising a cocky brow. "Geez, pushy for a bargain, aren't we?"

The flames grew hotter by Natsu's sides. "No more games, buddy! You wanna run, go ahead, but you ain't getting away from me."

"Yes, yes, I can see that now…you're a persistent one." Amaryllis smirked. "Tell you what, you want it that badly? How's about we make a trade?"

Natsu furrowed his brow. He knew better than to trust whatever kind of scheme this two-tailed monkey had against him. But for the sake of his prized belonging he opted to amuse her. "…what're you talking about?"

"Natsu?!" Happy looked over, worried.

"Oh-oh-ah! Oh, so you're not just muscle are ya? Well, color me impressed!" Amaryllis mused. "It's nothing major. It's a sweet deal, actually." She lifted her twin tails, which held the scarf in between them high to be in Natsu's sight. "I'll give you this frilly thing back to you…"

Natsu felt the pause. He could tell there was a catch.

"But, in exchange…" Amaryllis' eyes narrowed with sickly satisfaction. "You have to become one of my humans. Sounds good, right?"

Natsu narrowed his eyes slightly, muttering very low. "I knew it."

"Hey! What kind of a deal is that!" Happy shouted accusingly. "That ain't a trade at all!"

Amaryllis started jumped in place. "Oh-oh-ah-ah! Really? I mean, humans trade Pokémon all the time, don't they? And last I checked, you guys are fresh off this island, so it's not like you carry them around." She teasingly smirked. "Besides, I think it's a fair exchange. You get your scarf back, and I get something in return. See? Trading's as simple as that. It's a win-win for both of us!"

Natsu wasn't easily fooled by her act. "Was that how you got your other guys to follow you then? They traded away their freedom for something you took from them?"

Amaryllis shrugged. "Hey now, stole is such a strong word. I'd like to think of it more as refining its purpose. There's a saying, 'one man's trash is another man's treasure'. Now granted, I don't see how something like this can be seen as a treasure…" Amaryllis held up the scarf higher, her tails swaying it side-to-side. "But if it's that important to you, I can throw you humans a bone if you do some tricks."

"You resort to being petty by using others' precious thing against them." Charmeleon growled back. "That's rather low coming from such a high position, don't you think?"

Amaryllis shot him a glance. "You'd be surprised. Adamantine would have you pinned to the ground before you could mutter something like that. His shell's a hard one to crack." She shrugged. "At least I'm being more subtle with it. I'm giving you a choice after all, that's saying a lot. So how's about it, deal?"

Happy and Charmeleon turned towards Natsu, who had his head down and frowning. He looked to be deeply thinking, if not lost in something that was going on right now.

The pause didn't last long though, as Amaryllis was waving the scarf around high. "Better pick, or I think I just found my new winter wear~."

"Natsu!" Happy pleaded.

Finally, after a long silence, the Dragon Slayer spoke aloud. "So then…" He balled his fists tightly. "That all human valuables are to you? Just pieces of trash that you can have them scrape at?"

Amaryllis raised a brow. She could feel Natsu's tone bordering between serious and rhetorical.

"You may be a Pokémon, so you probably wouldn't understand…" His fists balled tightly, remembering Igneel. "But that scarf was left to me by someone important in my life as a memento. You have no idea…" His fists started shaking. "The value such things are to someone."

"Heh…?" Amaryllis tilted her head.

The more Natsu pressed on, the more he thought about the various jobs he went on with Lucy, and the valuables that he had taken with him at times and put them on the wall at home as mementoes. The thought of someone throwing all that away was probably one of the biggest disrespects they could give him. He would not stand for it!

"I don't care what happens to me, but you make a mess of things I treasure…" The fire on his fists suddenly bloomed, his face seething with ire so powerful that it startled even Charmeleon as he saw his trainer's irate. "I'M GONNA MAKE YOU REGRET EVER THINKING ABOUT IT IN THE FORST PLACE!"

Amaryllis slumped her shoulders, sighing. "And here I thought you'd actually have a conscience…pity. Well, I tried. Oh well…"

She used her tails and wrapped the scarf around her neck – an action that made Natsu glare harder than before. Once it was secure, she reached back with her tails and held two large cubes.

"Hard way it is then! Let's go, boys! Fuji! Malkuth!"

The two capsules flung into the air, erupting into magical energy that manifested in front of Amaryllis. The energy condensed and turned solid to make the chef and the shady mages that Natsu immediately recognized.

"H'oh, oh dear. Is it really time already?" The large chef – Fuji - looked partially anxious as he was starting to sweat, being either from heat or his lack of health management.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a gnat that's crawling around." Malkuth – the Larson Mage – gave Natsu a roguish glare. "Guess I get to cut loose and squash it."

Natsu's glare sharpened. "Those two…" He remembered well what happened back at the guild hall. The memory of Malkuth seizing Sophie's bra without even touching her was still fresh in his mind; but it didn't hurt nearly as bad as when he remembered how his flames were engulfed and burped back at him by Fuji.

Amaryllis' leery sneer grew some at Natsu's determined expression. "Oh~, someone's looking serious. This will be fun!"

"Won't be like last time." Natsu scowled determinedly. "Charmeleon!"

"Right!" Charmeleon bravely jumped in front of Natsu, brandishing his claws to show that he was ready.

Amaryllis flipped on her tail hands and landed on them, dangling herself like a piece of fruit with Natsu's scarf flapping in the breeze. "Oh-oh-ah! Well, you want it so bad? Come take it~!"

"You asked for it!" Natsu didn't waste a second as he rushed with fists endowed in his broiling fire. He took a big leap and pulled back his arms.

Amaryllis mischievously snickered, still keeping a merry tune. "Oh Malkuth~, use Object Crush."

"Right away." Malkuth sneered, eyes narrowing. He brought his right arm up as Natsu drew closer.

"You first, pervert!"

Malkuth swung his arm down, and at that instant, something heavy and hard struck the top of Natsu's head in midair. The impact halted his momentum almost entirely and made him fall to the rooftop on his stomach with a loud thud.

"Natsu!" Happy gasped.

Charmeleon's eyes widened. "What just happened!?"

Natsu laid on the roof for a second before he arose to a knee. He placed a hand on his throbbing head as the pain lingered, much to Amaryllis' audible leisure. "Damnit, that hurt. What the hell just hit me…huh?" He glanced over as something that laid a few feet off to his side. The object was small, but there was a noticeable dent beneath it that pushed the bottom upward. "What the-? A metal frying pan?"

Amaryllis slyly snickered. "Hehe, cliché much?"

Natsu lifted his head, shooting them a glare. "Then let's see a frying pan stop this!" He spread his arms and legs and got on all fours for better traction. As he inhaled, a slurping sound resonated as his lungs superheated to broiling temperatures.

"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"

When he opened his mouth wide, an enormous, monstrous blaze of pressurized flames raced across the rooftop, blazing in a growing radius into Amaryllis and her humans. The rooftop beneath shuddered and started melting from just the heat alone.

Feeling the heat of the attack even from such a distance, Amaryllis flipped onto her feet and covered herself with her real hands. "Yeesh! That's hot! Fuji, use Gulp Belch!"

"Uh, sure thing!" The chef quipped, starting for the line of fire.

He stood in the wake of the oncoming blaze that had enough force to obliterate a number of buildings in one go if given the chance. Fuji, however, didn't allow that as he inhaled and opened his mouth. He began to slurp at the heat, drawing it and the monstrous blaze of magical energy into his stomach.

The roaring roar's momentum was quick to dissipate as strands of it flowed and were drained into the obese mage's gullet. It gradually drained until nothing was left but a few smoldering embers licking the air around Fuji. The mage instead was standing with an expanded gut, with even more sweat covering his face.

"HUH?! YOU KIDDING ME?!" Happy exclaimed, completely dumbfounded. "HE JUST ATE NATSU'S FIRE LIKE IT WAS SPAGHETTI!"

"The hell?!" Natsu was just as shocked, but more so out of prospects. "Don't tell me he's another Fire Dragon Slayer!"

Amaryllis snickered loudly. "Oh-oh-ah-ah! Heh, I don't know anything about Fire Dragons, but it looks like you weren't paying attention. You see, Fuji has a special little magic called Ingestion Magic." She explained. "In other words, magical attacks become fuel for him."

Natsu looked stupefied. "You serious?!"

"Uh, Natsu, we might wanna move." Charmeleon advised cautiously.

"Huh…?" Natsu looked towards where Charmeleon seemed concerned about.

Fuji looked to be profusely sweating, almost to a point that his forehead was soaked. His stomach growled and vibrated as the fire he sucked in was contained and gurgling inside his strong gut. The gurgling got louder as Fuji took in a sharp breath of air.

"Aw snap! He's gonna burp!" Happy panicked.

Fuji lurched forward, opening his mouth wide as a loud, obnoxious belch expelled from his gut. The flames he sucked in before expelled on a boisterous explosion that swallowed everything heading towards Natsu, who crossed his arms and took his own fire being turned on him. The eruption of flames engulfed nearly the entire rooftop; Happy was barely fast enough to get himself and Charmeleon into the air out of range of the fire's wake.

By the time the big belch was finished, the entire roof was sizzling in a heat wave that Fuji gave off. "Oh my, excuse me." He apologized, wiping his mouth and forehead with the bib around his neck.

"Natsu!" Happy shouted.

"Is he okay!?" Charmeleon exclaimed.

The heat waves diminished as the last of the fire snuffed out. Natsu was shown at the end of a dense trail several feet back from where he was originally. His entire body had hot steam and smoke, but he remained standing as he uncovered himself and winced, showing only minor char marks.

"Oh-oh-ah-ah! Wow, you sure know how to pack a punch better than last time!" Amaryllis mused, bouncing up and down with her tails.

"This isn't good. Natsu can't eat his own flames." Happy grimaced. "If his opponent can take and send back his fire, how's he gonna hurt him?"

Charmeleon frowned, observing what his trainer will do.

Natsu straightened his posture, frowning heavily. "That was a cheap shot. Fine then, if I can't use that…" He started after Fuji with a fist pulled back. "Then let's see how you like eating a knuckle sandwich!"

Amaryllis grinned as she pointed at him. "Oh Malkuth, use Object Rain!"

Malkuth sneered with a sly grin. He raised both his hands up in the air over Natsu.

"GRAH~!" Natsu charged head-on, but he was quick to pick up on the numerous shadows beneath him. He quickly looked up, seeing dozens of furniture in freefall. "What!?"

Suddenly, various large and heavy objects ranging from tables, to nightstands, to even couched began to fall like rain on top of Natsu. He was quick on his feet and dodged the various array of cushions and wood that shattered upon hitting the firm roofing.

"Damnit! Where the hell is all this furniture coming from?!" Natsu exasperated.

Amaryllis chuckled again. "You really are gullible, you know?"

"What?"

"You know where we are? We're in an urban place where there's loads of human materials. As long as my Malkuth is within a certain range, his Larson Magic can take it from its original spot."

Happy gasped. "Wait, that means…" He looked at his surroundings, namely the many buildings that surrounded them. He realized what she meant.

"So what? You think some falling couches and cushions are gonna stop a little fire!?" Natsu's hands started compressing flames. He somersaulted forward to dodge a falling vase and landed on a knee. With a strong pivot, he faced the hundreds of descending objects and lashed his arms.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

He unleashed whips of fire that fanned relentlessly. They met the furniture and frames with sharp corners, eviscerating them to nothing but char and ash. Despite the gross number, Natsu's harsh firepower and speed seared them all away.

"He incinerated it all?!" Malkuth gasped.

"Don't stop now! Keep dropping objects!" Amaryllis hollered. "Don't let him get anywhere close!"

Malkuth furrowed his brow, but complied. He reached both his arms up overhead to utilize more of his Magic Power. In mere seconds, the few objects left descending were replaced by dozens more. They all fell like rain into the waves of fire that Natsu kept emitting to keep them from reaching him.

With the field assured a clear opening, this was Natsu's chance! "Charmeleon, go!"

"Got it!" Charmeleon rolled his shoulders to free himself from Happy. He jumped to the ground and landed on a knee, quickly usurping the stance to give momentum to a fast sprint across the rooftop past his trainer.

With his increased Speed from his previous Flame Charge, Charmeleon accelerated nimbly over the field of obstacles supposed to obscure him. He leaped over a refrigerator, as well as ricocheted off a slanted table and desk to get closer.

Amaryllis' eyes widened. "He's using the obstacles to get closer?!"

"Aerial Ace!" Natsu roared.

Charmeleon's deep blue eyes narrowed and briefly sharpened. He suddenly spurred off a mattress and lunged between Malkuth and Fuji faster than the two could trace. By the time they realized it, Charmeleon swung his claws into Fuji first, then Malkuth in a dynamic twist in midair.

"It hit!" Happy shouted.

With Malkuth reeling from being struck, his attack ceased for the time being, allowing Natsu to diffuse his own flames.

"Nice work." Natsu praised, smirking.

Charmeleon shot a glance back at him. "Don't mention it."

"Ooooof…" Fuji winced as he pressed a hand on the right side of his face where Charmeleon struck. "That hurt. I think I'm bleeding!"

"Quit complaining. I'm surprised you're not bleeding fat." Malkuth sniped.

Fuji winced at the offensive comment. "I-it's hereditary, I can't help it!"

Amaryllis started looking frantic as she saw the predicament of their battle. 'This isn't good. They're not the best at close combat…' She frowned. 'Looks like I'll have to switch things up a little…'

Natsu's gut was telling him something was off. He didn't bother thinking twice. "Charmeleon, use Dragon Rage on that Ambipom!"

Charmeleon growled as he brought his head back. His mouth glowed bright blue as dragonfire started swirling in the back of his throat.

Amaryllis was quiet as her eyes narrowed. She had one of her tails sneak behind out of sight as a glowing white baton of energy appeared out of nowhere.

"Take her down!" Natsu roared.

"Plan to!" Charmeleon widened his maw as he lurched forward. He expelled a straightforward stream of dragonfire that past both Fuji and Malkuth when they were caught off guard at the rate the attack was traveling.

As it drew closer to Amaryllis, she huffed and threw the baton with great speed directly at the chef's back. The baton was quick to travel through the air and touch Fuji's back. It immersed into his body, in which the effects were almost instantaneous.

"Huh? Hey, why do I feel so much lighter…?" he hummed. "Huh?" He saw the traveling dragonfire heading towards his trainer.

Despite the impending danger, Amaryllis didn't bother moving. In fact, she smirked. "…Fuji, Gulp Belch!"

For a moment, time seemed to have slowed down for everyone. Just as it looked like the Dragon Rage was about to land its mark, the beam was only a few feet away from Amaryllis when a shadow overlapped her and stood in the line of fire. The chef stood firm as he inhaled deeply and started draining away the dragonfire from air.

Charmeleon's eyes widened as he saw his blaze being swallowed. "What?!"

"When the hell did fat guys start moving like that!?" Natsu exasperated.

"Don't tell me that all that fat he has is really muscle!" Happy worried.

The last of Charmeleon's Dragon Rage was slurped down in strands like spaghetti down Fuji's gullet. With a final gulp, he closed his mouth and sighed at the hefty meal he ingested. "Ah~, not as spicy as the last meal, but it has a richer flavor that you can taste!" he critiqued.

Charmeleon bared his claws in defense. "That can't be right…"

"Oh-oh-ah-ah! You really think so?" Amaryllis mused. "You have my Baton Pass to thank for that!"

Natsu didn't seem to understand at first, but it didn't take too long for it to click. His pupils gradually shrank at the thought of that glowing white stick she threw earlier. He also remembered seeing that at the guild hall at one point, too.

Amaryllis jumped up and down. "That's right! Oh-oh-ah! With Baton Pass, I can pass over my stats to my allies. And since my Speed was up by Agility…" She smirked maliciously. "I can pass that along to anyone I want!"

"You damn monkey…" Natsu growled.

"Natsu, keep it together! We have to stay focused!" Charmeleon insisted.

"Oh-oh! I wouldn't stand there if I was you~!" Amaryllis sang. "Oh, Fuji~?"

Charmeleon gasped. When he realized what was about to happen, it was already too late. Fuji's gut started churning as the Dragon Rage he swallowed was causing pressure to condense. The chef took a sharp breath through his nose and let out another loud, obnoxious burp that expelled black and blue flames in a billowing wake at Charmeleon.

The range was too far for Charmeleon to get away, but it was also surprisingly fast. He didn't have enough time to get off his feet before the dragonfire engulfed him, sending him flying past Natsu with a cry of pain.

"Charmeleon!" Natsu shouted. Before he could run over to help his comrade, he noticed very thin shadows beneath him. When he looked up, he saw numerous knives pointing straight down and drop onto him.

He was quick to pull back from the wave of impaling cutting metal, though one scratched his forearm, drawing a little blood. He winced as he landed on a hand before flipping onto a knee.

"Keep your eyes up, charcoal breath." Malkuth teased.

Natsu rose to his feet, a peeved look on his face. "This is getting annoying." He muttered low. "These guys aren't letting us get anywhere close to their boss. And when they do, she just passes her speed to them to cover that distance…" He furrowed his brow. "That case…Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy suddenly swooped down from the sky, retrieving Natsu to take him off the ground. Everyone's eyes trailed up and watched them take flight.

"They're taking to the skies now?" Fuji fretted. "Oh dear, I'm not so good with flying…"

Malkuth's eyes squinted. "They planning to just fly over my field of objects? Smart…" He commended, but didn't stop him from raising his arms above his head. "But that ain't gonna stop me from bringing more liter down. I'm gonna crush me!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Malkuth gasped. He was blindsided by a red blur rushing at him with broiling, fiery teeth that snapped at him. He pulled off to the side at the last second to allow Charmeleon to find footing and turn towards the startled mage.

"Your fight's with me. Try dropping objects when I'm so close." Charmeleon threatened.

Malkuth's brows contorted with a mix of anger and contempt. "Damn lizard…"

With Charmeleon providing interference, Natsu and Happy took the initiative to glide over and barrel closer towards Amaryllis.

"I don't have to worry about that stuff blocking me if all we gotta do is go over it!" Natsu declared. "Those guys can't protect their boss if we can fly right over their heads!"

Amaryllis saw Natsu heading right for her. She started looking frantic as she saw him and the flying cat close the gap. She didn't have a lot of time before the human's feet were surrounding in fire.

"Agility!"

"Fire Dragon's Claw!"

The timeframe was barely a few seconds; that's all that was needed to make their moves effective. Natsu brought his right foot around with a ferocious trail of fire following its wake. Amaryllis had a sharp red aura envelop her body that instantly made her feel lighter. The foot was mere inches from her face, the fire practically reflecting in her dark pupils.

'It's gonna hit…!'

Natsu's expectations were dashed when Amaryllis suddenly somersaulted and twisted over the pair in a split-second. The blazing kick followed through, but didn't reach a target to exert its force. Instead, the wake of the flames made a horizontal heat wave that went across several building tops, melting and steaming the materials composing them by a slight amount.

'No way…' Once again, Natsu found himself dumbfounded. Time slowed down briefly for him as he looked over his shoulder to see Amaryllis positioned over them, her twin tails glowing brightly as her face had a sickly grin under the sun.

"Double Hit!"

"Happy, watch out!" Natsu shouted.

"What-?!" Happy only got a glimpse of the tails…but that was all the time he had.

Amaryllis' tails swung around and landed a harsh smack against Happy's head, and another one against Natsu. The double whammy followed through and sent the feline-human combo spiraling back in the direction they came from with cries of pain and shock. They flew past the humans into the debris field with a loud crash.

Charmeleon looked back with shock. "Are you kidding me!?"

Malkuth narrowed his eyes, seeing an opportunity before him. He put his hand behind his back and an iron bar appeared from the obstacles a few meters away. With Charmeleon distracted, he swung the makeshift weapon around and struck Charmeleon's side, making him stagger backwards.

"That's for earlier, you overgrown lizard."

Charmeleon looked back, growling in contempt.

Natsu groaned as he slouched up. His back hurt pretty bad from that impact just now. He was sure he had hit the corner of a desk or table. He could feel the recoil so bad that he winced while trying to hold in a gag. Happy was no better as he was slouched behind a round marble patio table that was cracked.

Natsu barely held his tongue. "Damn…that one's gonna hurt…" He looked over at Happy. "Happy?"

"Gnnngh…my head." Happy mumbled, rolling onto his back. He looked completely disoriented, presumably by the blow to the head he took earlier.

"Happy…" Natsu saw his partner in bad shape. He looked ahead at Charmeleon to find him barely holding on as he was keeping away from Malkuth's iron bar.

"What's the matter, not enough bravado left?!" Malkuth mocked through his swings. "You're all talk!"

Charmeleon narrowed his eyes. He opened his maw wide as flames erupted around his jawline, via Fire Fang. He snapped down on the iron bar as it came around, stopping it dead in its tracks. Malkuth's eyes partially widened from the sudden counter.

The longer that Charmeleon held onto the iron staff, the hotter it got. The heat gradually climbed its way towards the other end and felt hot to the touch, even to make Malkuth wince and let go before his hands burned. As soon as he stepped back, Charmeleon tossed the burning pole into Fuji, knocking him over with a harsh yelp.

With an opening for Amaryllis, Charmeleon signaled Natsu. "Natsu, hurry!"

Natsu was quick to pick up the slag. "Right! Aerial Ace!"

Charmeleon sprinted across the rooftop, closing the gap between himself and Amaryllis. He pulled back his right claw as he readied his attack. "You're fast, I'll give you that…but you can't maneuver around this!"

Amaryllis noticed just how fast Charmeleon was closing in on her. To say she was surprised was a mild understatement. Or at least, she would be. But she had other plans.

"HRAH!" Charmeleon's right claw jabbed into Amaryllis with all his might…only for a huge hand to block the blow. "What?!"

Amaryllis stuck out one of her tail hands to hold Charmeleon off. With the gap and their positions in place, she used her fingers to hold him still.

"Malkuth, use Object Crush!"

Malkuth recovered fast enough to heed her command. He reached and arm over Charmeleon and caused a broken desk to disappear from the liter field and appear overhead. When he swung it down, the desk fell above him.

Charmeleon only sported a quick glance to see the impending attack his way. He gasped and tried to move, but Amaryllis held him firmly in place. When it came to the last possible second, she let go and jumped away, allowing the desk to crumble atop the unfortunate Fire-type.

"CHARMELEON!" Natsu bellowed.

The dusk picked up by the crash quickly diminished, revealing Charmeleon to see in one piece still. However, he was bruised up, with the broken desk laying atop of him and pinning him to the rooftop. For just wood, it was damn heavy!

"Gngh…gngh…" Charmeleon grunted.

"Hey, you okay pal!?" Natsu shouted.

Charmeleon gnashed his teeth, struggling to move. "Can't…move…too heavy…!"

Natsu turned towards Malkuth, his ire skyrocketing. "You bastard…!" He pushed himself out of the debris pile, making a mad rush for the Larson Mage. "I'm gonna crush you for that!"

He made a mad bolt towards Malkuth, but a swift blur flung overhead and flipped over Malkuth onto Natsu. He stopped and put his forearms up, but he felt Amaryllis' large tail hands take a swipe, followed by a tear. He pulled away for good measure, but he was already too late when he realized his vest had been taken by her Thief.

Amaryllis landed between her humans, sporting a mischievous grin as she held Natsu's vest overhead and twirled it. "Oh-oh-ah! Talk about taking the shirt off your back, am I right?" she teased.

"The hell's your problem! First my scarf, now my shirt?" Natsu complained. "You seriously fighting with me or playing around?!"

Amaryllis adopted a thoughtful expression at Natsu's words. "Hm? Oh, you thought I was playing around? Trust me, I'm being serious here. This is just how I like to fight." She chimed. "Now, what should I take from you next to reconsider my offer? Hm…maybe your pants next…or maybe your shoes. A little more exposure would make you see reason, am I right?"

"You don't even need to wear clothes! Seriously, the hell's your problem with taking others' belongings anyways?!"

Amaryllis stopped twirling Natsu's clothing article mockingly. The mood on her face gradually shifted to a shocking grimace. It was easy to tell from just looking alone that Amaryllis' mood dropped to below zero at that instant, but even for Natsu, he could practically feel her mood.

Even though he was under pressure, Charmeleon paused as he saw Amaryllis having a morbid glare.

"…you so hypocritical as to say that?" the Ambipom started. "I really doubt that you humans know how greedy you can possibly get. You're never satisfied with what you have for yourselves, so you just take from us Pokémon as well."

"…what?" Natsu was genuinely confused, but he was cut off when he noticed Amaryllis pull out something from behind – a pocketknife.

"If you really know about us Pokémon, then you should know about Abilities, too, don't you?" Amaryllis eyed the pocketknife that she absently had on hand for only a few moments. "You see, my Ability is Pickup. I end up having random items on hand…I just can't help it. It wasn't like it was an impulse or anything, it was just my Ability." She shrugged. "But hey, didn't stop my Trainer from making me his personal grocery cart."

For a second time, Natsu was stunned. He wanted to question about what Amaryllis was talking about, but he also knew that she was going to continue anyways. He just let her press on with a bitter fixation on the knife.

"I was caught by a Trainer when I was having a snack on some Honey I found slathered on a tree. I was curious and hungry, but it cost me my freedom unfortunately. Anyways, I was kept in his party and was brought along for the ride. I honestly didn't mind the sightseeing, and I actually enjoyed seeing all these different places beyond the trees. But there was just one catch. I had to constantly pay rent.

"Whatever items I got from my Pickup, he always took from me. Revives, Full Heals, all that stuff. But you know what he said after a short while?"

"What, again? Can't you find me anything more useful than this?"

"When I was just doing my part to help, he wanted more from me, and I was left nothing. He always took whatever items that I picked up and said they were his own! Seriously, where was the vindication in that!?" She shook her head. "Sorry about that. Anyways, you can say the bell soon tolled and I got a little…curious. I was really hungry, so I snuck into his bag to get something to eat when no one was looking. A measly Oran Berry, nothing major."

Charmeleon narrowed his eyes, having a feeling of where this was going.

"So guess what happened next. Yup, you guessed it! He kicked me to the curb! Well, okay, maybe it's more accurate to say he ran me out, but it's the same thing. I got greedy just one time and I was released. don't know whether to call that selfish or greedy to be honest…really, I don't care anymore." She shot Natsu a look of pre animosity. "So, it was okay for humans to take whatever they want from us Pokémon, but whenever we want something for ourselves, we're given a slap on the wrist? How is that remotely justified?!"

Natsu wanted to say something, he truly did, but at the same time knew that whatever counter he had for her side of the story wouldn't do any kind of justice. If he was being honest, he would feel just as misused and underappreciated if he worked and wasn't allowed any kind of reward to harbor. Being in a guild didn't mean free labor after all.

"You humans always get the good stuff! Save some of that for us, too! We do practically all the work for you, yet you get your own warm beds, fancy clothes, all these pointless things you feel entitled to. Well…let's see how you guys like it when what you worked for is used by us."

"Is that why you view human possessions as objects?" Natsu's eyes widened at the realization.

Amaryllis touched Natsu's scarf and cocked a brow. "You can say that. You can also call it logic. It's easy to use others when you have something important to them in their possession."

Natsu turned towards Malkuth and Fuji. "So is that why she nabbed you guys, too?"

Malkuth scoffed. "She kept stealing back the stuff I kept taking from her. It was starting to wear me down."

Fuji sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "She stole some of my favorite baking recipes. They were my grandma's. I couldn't say no."

"Oh-oh-ah-ah! Speaking of personal belongings…" She sprung on her twin tails and flipped backwards through the air. She landed in front of Charmeleon and held the pocketknife right above his head.

"Charmeleon!" Natsu shouted.

Amaryllis glared seriously at him, while holding the knife up over Charmeleon's head. "You know, I bargain easily when it comes to belongings…but lives are a whole other story. Really, I don't want to resort to this, but it's better than having a loose cannon like you go around making a fuss."

"Natsu, don't do it!" Happy insisted.

She brought it closer to Charmeleon's head. "Now…what's it gonna be? Do I have to take everything from you first, or are you gonna swallow your pride for your 'treasure'? Your call."

Natsu stood firmly as he glared Amaryllis so hard that if he could burn a hole through her from just staring, he would gladly do so. Sadly, as expansive as his magic's array of flames and heat went, it wasn't like it could solve every problem in his life…even though it did the majority of the time. But he was stopped from making such a fuss from his conscience not wanting Charmeleon to get hurt. He was stuck with another fork in the road, and this time. He had to actually be considerate.

"Natsu…" Charmeleon worried.

The Dragon Slayer balled his fists so hard that his knuckles were white from the lack of blood flow. Every nerve in his body was telling him to rush in and take Amaryllis down right then and there. But just looking at Charmeleon's state made him reconsider following that gut feeling.

Amaryllis' eyes never left Natsu as she moved the knife a few inches closer to Charmeleon's forehead. "Well? I'm waiting~."

Natsu was on the verge of moving to free Charmeleon, but a thought stopped him.

"Don't you think I have a say in what we do, too? All you wanna do is fight, do you? You can fight as much as you want...just stop dragging others into your battles!"

Charmeleon's words reminded him of the few instances where Natsu's impulses got the better of him that he had to warn him about. The Inferno Overdrive and the sewers with the Muk was one thing, but this was something entirely different.

As if a switch had flipped off, Natsu's fists gradually loosened. Just this once, he had to consider another's situation. That was his responsibility as a Trainer.

"You're not serious…" Charmeleon muttered.

Amaryllis mischievously grinned. "I knew you'd see things our way."

Just then, the door to the stairwell smashed open. All eyes adverted towards the wooden doorframe as it slammed into the ground with two small creatures pouncing out into the open with loud cries. They were none other than Darumaka and Tyrunt.

"What the-?!" Malkuth exasperated.

"W-where did they come from!?" Fuji fretted.

"Finally made it!" Tyrunt roared, partially put of breath. "Tyrunt had to climb so many steps! Tyrunt's feet hurt!"

Charmeleon's eyes widened. "Darumaka? Tyrunt?!"

"Forgot someone?" Darumaka grunted angrily.

Natsu raised a brow. "The heck took ya guys? I thought you were right behind us?"

"We don't have wings! We had to climb those stupid stairs!"

"Tyrunt not happy being left behind." Tyrunt snorted.

With the distraction, Charmeleon saw his opening. He craned his head towards Amaryllis and charged up a Dragon Rage. The Ambipom barely caught on before jumping away to evade the dragonfire, giving Charmeleon some space.

"Damnit!" Amaryllis flipped onto her twin tails and bounced lightly. She turned towards Natsu and the two Pokémon that interfered in her bargaining. "That's it! No more games! I'm actually serious this time! I'm gonna make you my human by force!"

"You want me? Come get me!" Natsu challenged. Tyrunt and Darumaka stood in front of him, both scowling with thrill and contempt.

Amaryllis reached her real right arm out. "Malkuth, use Object Rain!"

Malkuth obeyed, congregating magic to transport even more indoor supplies to appear above Natsu and his Pokémon. The hundreds of multiple objects dropped like rain once more upon his opponent.

"Won't work this time, neither!" Natsu's hands were engrossed in more flames as he ferociously lashed them. The pressurized blaze fanned across the atmosphere and wiped out the projectiles before they could even touch the ground. He kept the field from adding anymore liter that would obscure his line of sight. "Tyrunt, use Bite! Darumaka, use Headbutt!"

Darumaka and Tyrunt dug in their heels into the plating before rushing ahead in a frantic hustle. They ran after Malkuth and Fuji with an abundance of fury in their cries. As they drew closer, Tyrunt's fangs glowed bright white, while Darumaka tucked in his head as he closed the gap.

"Don't let them get any closer!" Amaryllis shouted. "Malkuth, use Phantom Thief!"

Malkuth grunted sourly as he opened his hand. As Tyrunt drew closer, the iron pole Charmeleon knocked out of his hands earlier had teleported itself back into his grip. With the makeshift weapon in hand, he readied a swing downward as Tyrunt pounced for him. The iron bar met his jaws as they clamped down on the thin metal. With a loud snap the contest turned one-sided when the iron bar was broken in two.

Fuji, on the other hand, didn't have any kind of defense on him as Darumaka drew closer. "S-stay back! Not the face!"

Darumaka paid no heed to his opponent's pleas. He sprung off his feet and barreled head-first into the chef's gut. The impact was so strong that it caused him to reel backwards and grunt in pain. His entire body quivered as the damage from earlier made him exhausted, but it was even worse when he felt himself wincing and recoiling in place. It was Headbutt's flinching effect.

"Are you kidding me?!" Amaryllis was peeved, but quickly caught onto Natsu sprinting past them to close in on her. In a desperate attempt to get away from him, her body was enveloped in a red aura. "Agility!"

Natsu rushed in with a fist shrouded in fire, but Amaryllis nimbly twisted and sprung off the rooftop and into midair. As Natsu followed through, his fist met the wooden desk that trapped his Charmeleon. The impact was strong enough to shatter all the wood and free his companion.

'He faked me out! He was just aiming to free that Charmeleon!' Amaryllis realized. 'This human's on my last nerve!'

Charmeleon slowly got up, finally able to move again. "Thanks for that save, Natsu."

"Don't mention it. You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. Now…" Charmeleon felt his entire body heat up. His exhaustion was showing as his tail flame suddenly expanded. A fiery red aura enveloped his body that gave off a serious heat. With a loud roar, his Blaze Ability kicked in.

"Oh-oh-ah?!" Amaryllis dropped to the rooftop again, looking anxious and confused at the scene.

"Now I'm really mad!"

"Yeah, me too." Natsu agreed. "But listen, I got an idea. I think I got her style figured out."

Charmeleon shot a piqued glance at him. "You don't say?"

Natsu continued. "She always positioned herself behind her lackeys when they're keeping us away. She makes sure that they're kept a safe distance by that guy that steals belongings, so if they use any long-range attacks, that chef can send it back. And when they do get too close, she can increase her speed and outmaneuver. Same with a long-range attack, too. She can pass her Speed boosts to her humans so they can cover that weakness for her."

"Alright…so what do we do?"

"Don't worry…I know what to do." He assured, thinking of Fuji's magic. "We use any kind of long-range attack, she'll just make that fat chef ingest and send it back at us. So then…" He smirked. "Let's use something that he can't eat."

"What do you have in mind?" Charmeleon asked.

Natsu held up his left arm, revealing his Z-Ring. When he held up a sky-blue crystal, he placed it in the compartment. "This."

Charmeleon's eyes widened in realization. "I get it…heh. That just might do the trick. Alright then…" He turned towards the foes before him. "Let's do it!"

Amaryllis raised a brow in suspicion. She didn't know what was going on, but she wasn't willing to let that chance be taken. "Malkuth, hurry! Use Phantom Thief!"

Turning away from Tyrunt for a moment, he reached an arm out towards Natsu. He waited for the crystal to appear in his possession…but nothing appeared. His eyes widened. "What…?"

"W-what's wrong?! Don't tell me you're out of magic already!" Amaryllis fretted.

"I don't know!" Malkuth exclaimed.

"Let's do this!" Natsu crossed his arms over his body, causing the Z-Ring to emit a sky-blue insignia. The gleam immediately absorbed light around the vicinity and gave the area a darker hue; the light of the sky-blue Z-Power glowing behind Charmeleon's back.

The bright blue Z-Power arched overhead and made a bridge that connected with Charmeleon, enveloping him in its aerodynamic power. Already, he felt light as he and Natsu moved their arms up like they were gradually flying before dropping to their knees.

"Let's see them take it from the skies!" Natsu roared, shooting his right fist high like a launch.

Charmeleon let out a wild roar as gravity became moot at his feet. As if he had developed super strength, he shot off the rooftop and jettisoned towards the sky like a rocket, his right claw up the entire time.

Amaryllis blinked. Did that Charmeleon just learn how to use Bounce? She was no expert, but even by biological standards, she knew that shouldn't be possible. She was brought back to reality by a glint in the sky that shined bright blue. "Heh…?"

The glint under the sun gradually grew larger, and larger, and had a sky-blue hemisphere of condensed air pressure energy. It descended straight down onto the startled Ambipom with a familiar reptilian visage in the center of the descending hemisphere.

"W-what the-?!"

"GO! SUPERSONIC SKYSTRIKE!" Natsu roared.

"GNNNNAAAAH~!" Charmeleon let out a roar that echoed in the howling air as he fell like a meteor barreling for Amaryllis.

Once again, the Ambipom panicked. She looked around for any place to run away towards, but the aerial attack was covering such a massive range that not even another Agility could get her away. And the rooftop was isolated, so she couldn't jump anywhere else than the ground that was four stories down.

Desperation took its toll, so she opted for her best defense. "Fuji!"

Barely recovering from flinching, Fuji turned towards his trainer. "Y-Yes?!"

"Get over here! Use Gulp Belch and eat that energy!" Amaryllis hollered.

"W-What…?" Fuji looked up at the descending reptilian that was Charmeleon. Seeing him at the center of that Z-Power and driving it forward only made his anxiety escalate. "Uh, a-are you sure? I don't think that I-!"

"Just do it!" she snapped.

"O-okay!" Fuji didn't bother questioning further in fear of his security, and his recipes. With the Agility boost he was granted, he sped over with a great hustle and stopped before his trainer and looked up at the impending jet coming down on them. Though he was nervous and extremely ill-confident, he swallowed a lump and closed his eyes before opening his mouth wide.

"That won't stop us!" Charmeleon warned, his right claw heading straight for Fuji's face.

As Fuji was doing as he was told and made an attempt to ingest the attack, Amaryllis didn't want to take that chance. Frantic and insecure for her life, she pulled away as time briefly slowed down before Charmeleon's aerial strike was mere inches from Fuji's face.

Even with such a very small span of time, the chef was openly trying to engulf the Z-Power around Charmeleon. Strands of the air were openly drawn into his gullet…but not all of it as the physical force of Charmeleon was too fast for him to swallow.

"GGRRAAAHHH!"

With a sundering blow with his right claw, he punched Fuji and smashed into his overweight body, creating a destructive shockwave that shuddered the entire building's upper-half. The airspace shuddered as the wake of the attack sent Amaryllis flailing away, and left the others to cover up as dust and shrapnel of the roof's plating flew in their direction. The wake of the attack made an explosive dust cloud that could have been seen blocks away by everyone.


Wendy was making way down an abandoned avenue with Swablu, Amaura, and the recently recruited Arcelia. Carla was on watch when she heard a loud rupture from ahead. "What was that?!" the Exceed quipped.

Wendy's hearing picked up on the rupture and saw something up ahead. "Huh? Hey, Crala, look at that up there!"

Everyone present stopped and looked ahead in the direction of where a large cloud of dust and an explosion flourished atop of a medium-sized building several blocks away. The eruption could be heard even from their position.

"W-what was that just now?" Amaura worried.

"Hm…dunno." Swablu hummed, tilting her body in curiosity.

Arcelia looked at Swablu, then towards Amaura. "Is she usually this calm?"

"It comes and goes." Amaura noted, before Swablu nonchalantly found a comfy roost atop her head. "…I think?"

Wendy's sensitive nose picked up a scent in the willowing dust and air. She could immediately tell who was in the middle of the crossfire. "This smell…it's Natsu alright."

Carla shook her head. "Should have known he was the root of all this. Go figure."

"Um, is this Natsu by chance a friend of yours, too?" Arcelia spoke up, earning a nod from Wendy.

"Yeah, sure is. He's part of our guild. Don't worry, he's actually a nice guy…he just has some reckless behaviors at times."

"At times, huh? Is that how you put it?" Carla huffed. "Try every other job."

Wendy meekly chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "Okay, maybe that was a bit of a stretch. But you'll know once you meet him. C'mon, let's hurry!"

"Right-gngh!" Carla winced in pain as she made an attempt to activate her Aera Magic. Her body stung all over at an incredulous rate. "S-sorry, Wendy, that fight with that Dragonair did more than I thought."

"Yeah, I'm feeling low, too." Wendy didn't sound it, but Carla could tell as clear as day. She was just putting up a strong front to hide how much pain she was in from the sheer lightning she had to endure. If she wasn't mistaken, it was taking everything just to walk. It was truly commendable how far Wendy has come.

'She really has come a long way.' Carla internally noted. "We'll just have to keep steady. Hopefully we'll recover enough by the time we get there."

"Right, let's go guys." Wendy hustled into a slow run, the rest of her Pokémon and Arcelia following behind towards the crash site.


The shockwaves of the Supersonic Skystrike gradually diminished to tolerable levels, but the dust that was picked up from the impact still covered the entire rooftop.

Unable to see what was happening, Malkuth was completely vulnerable as he instead opted to cover himself. "What just happened!?"

In an instant, Natsu barreled a hole clean through the dust cloud, his right fist pulled back as he lunged for Malkuth. The Larson Mage was in shock as he was caught off guard by the sudden rush by the opponent.

With a strong cry, Natsu swung his fist into the back of Malkuth's head with enough force to instantly floor him, and make the roof's plating crack from the pressure. The blow was strong to where Malkuth's eyes were devoid of pupils as the shock left him completely unconscious.

"That one's for taking Sophie's bra." Natsu scorned, towering over his unconscious foe.

Amaryllis was sprawled a short distance away from barely escaping the Z-Move's wake. Even if she was able to escape the full impact, she was scratched and covered in dirt. Her clothing, save for Natsu's scarf and vest, were a mess. She struggled to get to her feet and resorted to using her twin tails for support.

"Hngh…what just happened…?" She lulled. "Wait…no!"

It was too late. By the time the dust and smoke cleared, she saw both her humans laying on the destroyed rooftop. Fuji was in a crater that was depressed into the roof, but not deep enough to make him collapse to the next floor below. Charmeleon towered over him, his Blaze Ability giving his body a fiery prominence. Natsu stood over Malkuth, who was in worse shape, if not more. It was clear neither was getting up anytime soon.

"B-but how?! How did you get past my Fuji?!" Amaryllis shouted.

"Could have used Inferno Overdrive or Devastating Drake…but those are all long-range energy attacks." Natsu noted with confidence. "But this Z-Move doesn't. How's about you eat that!"

Charmeleon bared his claws at Amaryllis, with Darumaka and Tyrunt joining in intercepting her from the sides. She started to show panic, if not absurdity. Whatever was left of her playful demeanor from before was replaced completely by desperation.

"Alright Charmeleon, let's finish her!" Natsu shouted.

"Okay…" Charmeleon braced himself to attack, but he felt a sudden sharp pain in his body. He staggered off to the side as his mind went blank for a second. "Gnnngh…"

Natsu gasped. "Charmeleon?!"

"Is he okay?!" Happy worried.

Charmeleon huffed as he was having trouble seeing straight. Even though his Blaze was still active, he was running on empty. 'That desk that crushed me earlier, I can still feel it…crap, move body!'

Seeing a window of opportunity, Amaryllis didn't bother to hesitate. She sprung ahead with her twin tails as they both glowed brightly, indicating her Double Hit. Her speed was so fast that not even Darumaka or Tyrunt were able to keep up to intercept her.

'Too fast!'

As Charmeleon's body suffered a delayed reaction from his adrenaline finally coming down, he only had a second to see the twin tails heading his way. Even though he was within physical range, he was too…tired. He was left motionless as the tails outdo the rate he kept track of, and the next thing he knew, there was a sharp pain that knocked him off his feet that sent him sailing across the rooftop past Natsu and everyone else.

"CHARMELEON!" Natsu roared out.

Charmeleon cried out as he tumbled across the roof. He fumbled over into a chair leg, then into a plastic frame, breaking it. He then crashed into the backboard that belonged to a bed and was imprinted onto it for a few seconds. In that precious time, Natsu and everyone else had wide eyes as they saw the Blaze aura around Charmeleon fade away. They saw his body fall on its stomach and land on the roof with a loud thud.

With swirls in his eyes, it was evidence alone that he wasn't getting back up.

"NO!" Natsu shouted. He turned back towards Amaryllis with a sharpened glare. "You bastard…you're gonna pay for that!"

Despite his claims, he was blindsided by Amaryllis' speed and tails. Unlike Charmeleon though, he had enough time to put up his forearms to block the Double Hit. The impact was so fast and surprisingly powerful that he slid several feet away until his heels grinded to a halt.

"YOU WON'T TAKE THIS LIFE FROM ME!" Amaryllis landed on her twin tails, shooting a heartless glare. "YOU HUMANS TOOK TOO MUCH FOR YOURSELVES! NO WAY AM I HANDING OVER WHAT I'VE EARNED FOR MYSELF! WITH MY OWN HANDS!"

Natsu was surprised, but it wasn't until he saw her pull out a Human Cube. "Let's see you dodge this!" She threw the cube directly at Natsu with the speed of her Agility making it look like a bullet projectile closing in on him.

"Natsu, look out!" Happy warned.

Natsu was wide-eyed as the cube drew near. Just as it was about to touch him, a pair of jaws snapped shut on the cube, shattering it to pieces before Amaryllis' eyes.

"W-What?!"

A set of feet stomped on the ground when they landed, revealing them to belong to Tyrunt. The prehistoric beast opened his jaw wide to let out a loud roar of challenge towards the startled Ambipom. It only served to annoy her further.

"You think you can keep up with me?"

"Tyrunt doesn't care! Tyrunt will bite your tails off for what you did!" Tyrunt retorted.

"That goes double for me! Save me a piece of this action!" Darumaka exclaimed, joining Tyrunt from the side.

Amaryllis sneered as she held up her twin tails. Darumaka and Tyrunt charged with loud cries towards her as Natsu watched them keep her occupied. With them being busy, that left an opening for him to go and consult Charmeleon. He raced over and met up with Happy on Charmeleon's sides.

Natsu dropped to a knee and nudged his unconscious friend. "Hey, you alright? C'mon, wake up!" he pleaded.

"Looks like he's in bad shape." Happy frowned.

"Charmeleon, c'mon! Get it together!"

It was vague, but Natsu heard the sound of a weak grunt. When he noticed the swirling eyes being replaced by wincing eyelids, he felt relief when he saw them flutter open to show Charmeleon was still conscious.

"Grrrrngh…Natsu…?" His voice was faint, but he was coherent.

"Can you get up? C'mon buddy, I know you got some fight in you!" Natsu insisted.

Charmeleon turned his head away. "I'm sorry…I haven't got anything left in me…that was all I had."

Natsu gnashed his teeth with growing discomfort at the realization. "Crap…where did I pack that Revive? I know I have it somewhere around here…"

"Natsu!" Happy yelled.

Natsu stopped, pausing to realize what was happening. Now that he had time to really look at Charmeleon, he was truly fatigued. If it wasn't evident a minute ago, it was clear as day now from how grossly groggy he was. Even if he was given a Revive, for some reason in the back of Natsu's mind, he had a feeling that it wouldn't bring Charmeleon's spirits up.

"Natsu…" Charmeleon muttered, barely conscious. "I told you before…but I'm…so tired…"

Natsu blinked. "You're tired?" It was then something clicked inside his head. What Charmeleon also said that night dug itself up.

"Huh? Oh, no. I, uh...just a little tired is all. Been battling my fair share really exhausts me." He scratched the back of his head with a claw. "Uh, maybe I should...rest in my Poke Ball for a little while."

Natsu blinked in confusion. "...you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He held up his claws like he was bracing for a fight. "I'm always up for a battle, you know that. I just need a little rest is all."

"Well, if you insist." Natsu brought up Charmeleon' Poke Ball, but not before giving him his trademark smile. "Get some rest! I'll be counting on you tomorrow, pal."

Charmeleon tiredly smirked. "Yeah." The laser struck him, instantly converting him into energy that retreated into the Poke Ball.

"Huh...guess he really was tired." Natsu figured.

"Hey, Natsu? Maybe you should slow it down." Happy advised. Natsu gave him a conspicuous look. "Don't you think that you're overdoing it with Charmeleon just a little bit? I mean, you've been battling with him nonstop."

At the time, it wasn't a subject that really bothered Natsu. He wasn't one to dive deep into personal matters like that unless it was warranted or otherwise had a sense of guild pride involved. That went without say fir the whole Fairy Heart incident. But now that he was actually seeing it with his own eyes, that disregard he had before turned into some wretched guilt ball in his gut. He hated it. He hated losing, but that kind of lose was what always motivated him to learn from it and do better as a comeback…but this wasn't something that he couldn't rebound from so easily.

It wasn't a matter of how he felt per se, rather it was what Charmeleon felt. He played it off that instance because he considered how his trainer felt about battling, and he had to respect that. It only took just now for Natsu to realize that he didn't consider Charmeleon and the others' feelings too.

"Tyrunt is upset with you!"

"Yeah! And some of us need to come out a little more often, y'know!"

"How come you always battle with just Charmeleon, huh? That's not fair to us! We want even more action!"

That was another missed stoke to the flame. For the umpteenth time, the Dragon Slayer felt his heart sink like a deadweight. The red flags were there, but he just assumed that what they said before was mainly due to the brainwashing's influence. The current situation made him think that wasn't the case anymore.

As he was weighing his thoughts, Darumaka and Tyrunt were on the offense against Amaryllis. When the two went for a Fire Punch and Bite respectively from both sides, she catapulted above them, causing them to run into each other. They staggered from the shock that allowed Amaryllis time to land in front and swat them away with another Double Hit; one hand smacking each Pokémon a few meters away.

The two hit their sides, but they rebounded and were able to get back up before springing after her again. Amaryllis snickered in delight and accepted their confrontation methods with her tail hands. "You're making this too easy. Heehee!"

As their quarrel went on in the background, Natsu was staring blankly at Charmeleon. He lowered his head, his bangs covering his face at his own lack of judgment.

This didn't go unnoticed by Happy. "Natsu…?"

"…I'm sorry. This is all my fault." He started in a low tone. "Guess you had the hints there, but I didn't catch on. I'm sorry. I really am."

Charmeleon tiredly glanced over at his trainer's apology. "Natsu…it's fine, really. Guess I'm partially to blame, too…" he turned his head away, a weak grin plastered on his maw. "You're not exactly the most careful person, and you don't take hints very well, either. But…"

"Could have used Inferno Overdrive or Devastating Drake…but those are all long-range energy attacks."

Remembering how Natsu considered his options, it made his grin wider as he continued. "You're not a bad Trainer at all."

Natsu took the words to heart, humbly grinning. "Guess I still got a lot to learn, huh?"

"Hm, yeah, I'd say so…" he muttered.

Natsu slowly stood up and faced Amaryllis. "Alright then, no time to fix that like right now. Charmeleon, you just sit back and take a nice rest…you've earned it. We'll take it from here."

Charmeleon went silent as he heard a loud thud from ahead. He saw Darumaka and Tyrunt fall yet again from another assault by Amaryllis, who flipped onto a couch and hollered with a sickly laughter at their expense.

Tyrunt gradually got up first, looking more pissed than ever. "Loudmouth mammal…!"

"Gnnngh…she's so slippery." Darumaka grunted.

"Darumaka, Tyrunt!" Both turned their heads and glanced back at their Trainer. "Listen, I'm sorry that I haven't been giving you guys enough room to fight. But listen, I need you guys now more than ever. So how about it…you ready to give it all ya got?"

They paused to take in his words. For a moment, they glanced at each other to see what the other was thinking. Their expressions said enough to know what they had in mind.

They raised their heads, letting out unison roars of thrill. "YEAH!"

"Alright, go get'em, guys!" Happy cheered.

"That's the spirit! This time, I'm counting on you guys! Show me what you got!" Natsu encouraged.

"Right!" Tyrunt snapped his jaws, snorting at Amaryllis with renewed vigor.

"Count on me, I'm revving to go!" Darumaka exclaimed. Despite some damage he had sustained before, he was holding up moderately well.

"Oh-oh-ah-ah! This should be entertaining." Amaryllis mused.

Natsu grinned with enthusiasm. He could feel the fire in his belly now! This was his chance to do better as a Trainer for his Pokémon, as well as himself. He started off by swiping his arm.

"Alright Tyrunt, use Charm!" He ordered.

Tyrunt snarled at Amaryllis before his attitude took a complete 180. He had a fluffy and dainty background around himself, with pink hearts ejecting from his body as he focused on Amaryllis. The action was instantaneous as Amaryllis had a dense blue aura engulf her body to indicate her Attack sharply depleting.

"You think a cute little wink is gonna hold me back? Oh-ah! News flash, I'm still much faster than you! Watch!" Amaryllis sprung off the couch and began showing off her acrobatics across the rooftop. Once again, she flipped and flung herself around in a speedy fashion, using the housing items scattered as pedestals to jump and land on.

Tyrunt and Darumaka turned left and right, unable to keep track of the purple acrobatic blur that flung to and fro. One moment she was leaping from a refrigerator to a desktop, and the next she ricocheted off a trash can, brushing past them. They found themselves back-to-back as they were keeping an eye out.

"She's so fast! And she's using the objects that Malkuth guy dropped earlier to her advantage!" Happy exclaimed.

Natsu was well-aware of that, but he didn't want to say it aloud. He was sharply focused on tracing Amaryllis' movements. His draconic eyes were watching her patterns fling her around and zip past furniture. Even when it looked like she was getting faster, he was staying completely observant and cautious when reading her style.

It was then she zipped back and forth between trash cans and desk to maneuver in a narrow path towards Tyrunt's direction; his exposed left side to be exact.

"Darumaka, quick! Fire Punch, 4 o'clock!"

Darumaka's eyes widened. In haste of his trainer's warning, Amaryllis appeared in front of a startled Tyrunt, her twin tails glowing with another Double Hit that descended from above to smack him down. However, they were blocked by a very hot fist embodied in flames, breaching a stalemate.

"E-eh?!" Amaryllis gasped, taken back by the sudden counter.

Darumaka grunted as he kept his fist connected with her tail hand. With her lowered Attack power – and contributions to his Hustle Ability – he let out a cry and forced his punch through, sending Amaryllis flying across the field of furniture until she slammed clean through a painting, tearing a hole clean through it.

"Alright, nice one!" Natsu grinned.

Darumaka smiled brightly, hopping onto one leg. "Haha! I did it! I got a hit in!"

Amaryllis picked herself up from the damaged canvas debris and shook her head to snap out of shock. 'What just happened? Did he seriously just predict where I was going to attack from?' She internally thought. 'How did it do that?!'

She didn't bother with hysterical theories. She instead focused on getting back to her feet and steeling herself. "Agility!" Once again, a red aura waved around her before vanishing. Once again, she disappeared from sight in an acrobatic blur. With even greater speed, she zipped across the furniture field around Darumaka and Tyrunt in an attempt to disorient them.

Natsu kept his eyes focused ahead of himself, having an idea based on her movements. "Ahead of you guys, 1 o'clock!"

Tyrunt and Darumaka turned their bodies as Amaryllis spurred in a swift lunge after them, her twin tails carrying a broken bedpost pole and a kitchen knife picked up thanks to her Pickup Ability.

"Tyrunt, use Bite! Darumaka, Fire Fang!"

Amaryllis hollered as she flung across the rooftop and into the two as they opened their jaws wide; Darumaka's jaws broiling in fire, while Tyrunt's teeth glowed bright white.

"EAT THESE!" She made an attempt to stab at Tyrunt and ram Darumaka with the wooden pole, but both chomped down on the respective makeshift weapons at once, breaking them to metal and wooden shrapnel before Amaryllis' eyes. "E-eh?! You're kidding!"

"We got you know!" Darumaka declared.

"You can't trick us anymore!" Tyrunt bellowed.

Amaryllis was taken back. She was making minced meat out of these two only a few minutes ago, and now, just like that, she was on the defensive with little ground to score any effective damage. It was getting to her bad.

"Alright guys, now show her what you can really do!" Natsu yelled out.

"You betcha!" Darumaka hummed as he spun rapidly in midair, his folded body giving off a heated orange energy surrounding him. He popped his limbs out and smiled brightly as a ring composed of light purple and pink fireballs with white cores formed around him.

Amaryllis' eyes widened in growing shock. "What are you…?!"

Natsu gasped. "Darumaka…?"

Darumaka spun his body again, making the ring of ghastly fireballs gyrate in orbit around him. "Will-O-Wisp!"

He projected the fireballs at Amaryllis like a ghostly swarm. Amaryllis was still reeling, her shock surmounting her judgment before she could evade the fireballs. They all pelted her body, combusting into puffs of heated air upon contact with her clothing and fur. They all met her body and faded, leaving purple static for a moment.

As she recovered from the heated flares, she only winced. "Heh…that wasn't so-!" Suddenly, her body burst out a sudden flame that caused a literal searing pain. "GAAHH!"

"She's burned!" Happy realized.

Charmeleon watched in awe of the display, surprised at the new move his teammate learned.

Amaryllis yelped as she backpedaled and dropped to a knee. The flames dissipated, but she felt an incredulous sting all over her aching body. "D-Damnit! How did I get hit with something so obvious?' She cursed aloud.

Tyrunt growled low as he stomped on the ground. "Now it's Tyrunt's turn to show you what he's made of!"

"Now what?!" Amaryllis exasperated.

Tyrunt lowered his front half and raised his tail. Around it, green energy scales began materializing from the base and encased it until it was at its tip. The entire tail was coated in crystalline dragon scales that shimmered under the sun that swayed at his will. Tyrunt harrumphed and shot off the ground over Amaryllis. The Ambipom was aware this time and managed to backpedal from the impact that smashed into the roof's plating, sending shrapnel everywhere.

"Tyrunt too?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"I recognize that move…that Dragonair that attacked us on the ship used it!" Happy shouted. "That's Dragon Tail!"

"Dragon Tail?" Natsu looked at his Pokémon with a sense of wonder growing. "That's so awesome! You guys learned new moves! That's showing you're fired up!"

"GRAH~!" Darumaka and Tyrunt raised themselves high in high spirits.

Amaryllis quickly scrambled out of sight and tucked herself behind some couch cushions. She was busy catching her breath after that close call with the sudden Dragon-type move out of nowhere. It was bad enough that she was burned, but now she was so frail up close that it didn't even matter if she held up a knife at this point. She could barely manage to even grasp it!

She panted heavily, the weight of the battle finally catching up to her. 'This isn't good. What is it gonna take to bring them down now? I've tried everything!' Here eyes suddenly widened. 'Unless…'

She peered past the couch, noticing something that passed her recently. Looking at Natsu, she was quick to catch onto the folly.

'Of course, it's that human. He's the one predicting my moves, just like earlier when I was running away…' Her teeth gnashed with annoyance. 'He's even more annoying than me, but…I can still take him! He's mine!'

Steeling herself, she knew she had to make this next attack count. The burn was hurting her bad. She used her twin tails and gripped the cushions. She gathered momentum to flip and spring herself through the field of debris over Tyrunt and Darumaka's heads, making a beeline effort at Natsu.

"She's heading your way! Look out, Natsu!" Happy shouted.

"Don't worry, pal." He spread his legs, sparing no lack of confidence. "It's fine."

Amaryllis cried out at the top of her lungs as she leaped onto Natsu with a viscous swipe of one of her twin tails. As Natsu brought up his left forearm solemnly, Amaryllis saw the shimmering Z-Ring and knew what to aim for.

'That shiny little trinket of a watch packs a serious punch. I'll take that as leverage and hopefully that'll be leverage!'

"THIEF!"

She flung her tail's hand into Natsu's forearm with all the strength she had – which wasn't much considering the burn drastically reducing her physical prowess. But the impact nonetheless was enough to make Natsu's forearm wince for a second from impact.

Amaryllis saw Natsu's straight face, sneering with satisfaction at her plan…or at least she would be, if there wasn't anything wrong.

"Wait…huh?!" She noticed the Z-Ring wasn't pried from Natsu's wrist. Neither was the Flynium-Z attached inside. "S-something's wrong! Thief always steals an opponent's held item. Why isn't…?"

A smirk appeared on Natsu's face. "Guess you got too greedy." Before Amaryllis could pull away, he grabbed the tail that she connected with.

When she made an attempt to pull back, not only did she not have the strength to take herself back from the Dragon Slayer's iron grip, but the burn's flames erupted again, inflicting more pain that made her tense.

"You want everything valuable from us?! Then take it!" Natsu reeled his arm back, before throwing Amaryllis high in the air over the rooftop.

Taking cue, Darumaka and Tyrunt crouched their legs before jumping into the air after her.

"Aaaayyye~!" Amaryllis flailed in distraught. Even as she was trying to straighten herself out, she was too late when two shadows cast her out of the sun above. "E-eh…?" She looked up, squinting only slightly from the shadows above her. It felt only brief, but the realization gradually sank in as time slowed down. 'No…NO!'

"Now guy…LET HER HAVE IT!" Natsu roared.

"Fire Punch!" Darumaka balled his fist tightly and swelled flames as he brought it down with heavy force.

"Dragon Tail!" Tyrunt performed a somersault as his tail was coated in bright green energy scales, swinging it down onto Amaryllis.

The flames and bright green lights drew closer, igniting on Amaryllis' bewildered face. She was the perfect picture of someone who couldn't understand what was happening. Everything moved too fast that not even her Agility could keep up. And when it did, it was all too late when the impact of both physical moves smashed into her face.

"GRAAAAAHHHH~!" Tyrunt and Darumaka let out the loudest cries possible as they followed through with their attacks together. Their combined force shot the screaming Amaryllis straight down into the furniture debris below with a seismic eruption of rooftop plating and dust billowing. The impact's force was so extreme that the added weight and pressure the roof sustained earlier became too much, causing all the furniture and Amaryllis to sunder straight through a crippling hole.

Meanwhile, down below in the building, Wendy was hurrying up the stairwell, finally reaching the fourth floor. "I think it's up here, guys!" she shouted.

Behind her, Carla, Swablu, Amaura, and Arcelia were on tow, keeping up with their ally as they climbed the stairs to what was the fourth floor, which was another studio area that was vacant of any supplies like the previous floors below.

"This floor is empty, too!" Carla exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's really strange. It's like all the furniture in here just up and vanished to thin air."

"Where's all that furniture then?" Arcelia wondered.

Suddenly, just before they were about to reach the stairs for the rooftop, the ceiling to the main floor tore open, startling the five occupants. The entire place shuddered as they watched an avalanche of broken furniture, paintings, kitchen appliances, and decorative knickknacks fell in one massive gulp into the flooring. The flooring by itself barely held the weight as some of the heavier items like home weights and pianos sundered directly to the next floor down. The entire mess was nothing short of a massive shock to the females that stood completely bewildered at the sight of dust clouding everything.

"Is that…?!" Wendy gasped in realization.

Carla looked towards the gaping hole above them, putting a hand to her hip. "Well…supposed that answered our questions."

On the surface, the dust cloud flourished over the rooftop, with two objects daintily floating their way down from the sky. Natsu's scarf and vest, which had gotten loose from Amaryllis from the impact, drifted towards his direction. He nonchalantly held up his arms and caught the two articles in his hands.

Tyrunt and Darumaka landed in front of the gaping hole, both watching the dust clear out. In a moment, they watched it fade to where they could peer below. There, they saw the sight of Amaryllis a few meters below, her body atop a pile of furniture and belongings, along with her torn up clothes.

But most importantly, her eyes had swirls; it was suffice to say that she wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"Friends don't steal from other friends…" Natsu rewrapped the scarf around his neck, feeling right at home again. "Don't be so greedy for now on."

Happy's face brightened with joy. "Alright! You guys did it!"

Natsu glanced back over his shoulder, smirking. "Told ya. Nothing to worry about." He turned back towards Darumaka and Tyrunt. "Honestly, it was all thanks to them."

Tyrunt and Darumaka turned towards their Trainer, looking partially surprised yet elated at the settling victory they earned.

"You guys were awesome." Natsu held up a thumb up, showing off his signature toothy grin. "You guys totally kicked that monkey's two-tailed butt!"

"Haha! Yeah! You bet we did!" Darumaka feverishly cheered, jumping up and down in joy.

Tyrunt let out a prideful cry in rejoice of their victory.

"They did it…" Charmeleon was still unable to move, but he couldn't help but be a little surprised, if not proud too. "Heh, not bad you guys." He grinned.

The sound of footsteps were heard coming from the stairwell that Tyrunt and Darumaka shot out of earlier. Natsu's dragon nose picked up some familiar smells almost instantly, making him turn in shock at who came to join him.

"It is! It's Natsu!" Appearing with surprised relief in her tone, Wendy rushed over. "Hey, you guys!"

"Figures it'd be you to make such a mess." Carla chimed. "You nearly crushed us!"

Arcelia squirmed behind Amaura and Swablu as she joined up with them. Almost immediately, she looked surprised at the carnage around her. There was sprawled furniture in corners of the roof, as well as a massive hole that, supposedly, was created by the pink-haired human with a white scarf around his neck. Not only that, but she was also seeing a Charmeleon, Darumaka, and a Tyrunt; all Pokémon that she wasn't familiar with in her life.

'What kind of humans are Wendy familiar with to do this kind of damage…?'

"Huh? Oh, it's you guys! How's it been?" Natsu greeted leisurely. "You just missed the fun part. We totally smoked the fur off that monkey!"

"Monkey, huh?" Carla raised a brow. To satisfy her inquiries, she and the others peered into the massive hole that gave them a good view of the mess they narrowly avoided below. To their bewilderment, they saw Amaryllis fainted atop a pile of furniture and other belongings that were – ironically – her downfall.

Wendy gasped upon recognizing her. "Is that one of the Apostle?!"

Natsu smirked with pride. "You bet, and you've got these guys to thank for that." In front of him, both Tyrunt and Darumaka smiled with a glow.

"I see." Wendy nodded, grinning knowingly. "That makes sense. It wouldn't be as tame if it was you. Pretty sure the whole place would have come down."

"Haha, got that right! Haha…" The realization was slow to sink into Natsu's head, but it it sank in nonetheless. "…hey, what's that supposed to mean!?"

"Huh?" Happy noticed something off about their numbers. He recognized Swablu and Amaura, but as soon as his eyes met Arcelia's, the latter flinched with worry. "Hey, Wendy, who's that right there?"

"It's kind of a long story. She's a friend of ours now, so she's on our side. You can trust her, guys." Wendy assured. "She's supposed to be a Pokémon called Dratini, but she goes by Arcelia."

"Um…h-hello. Nice to meet you." Arcelia raised her tail meekly to greet everyone around her.

Carla continued peering down the hole, scrutinizing Amaryllis' crippled state. "Seems like she's not getting up for some time. Well, at least that's one Apostle out of the picture."

Natsu was about to say something regarding the situation, but he remembered his priorities. "That's right! Wendy, listen up. You've got a Revive on ya?"

Wendy blinked. "Uh, I think I do. Why?"

"Charmeleon was knocked out. You think you can spare one for him and heal him if possible, please?"

Wendy turned to where Charmeleon was laying on his stomach, scrapes and bruises evident all over his body. She didn't shy away from extending a hand of help to her comrade's Pokémon. "Yeah, sure thing!" She rushed over, pulling out a Revive she had on hand. "You'll be better soon, Charmeleon, I'll help you out."

Charmeleon lazily glanced up at the Dragon Slayer. "Thanks, Wendy. We owe you for this."

Wendy chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Now…" She gingerly sat the medicinal rhombus in Charmeleon's mouth. He obliged to close and swallow it, getting nothing short of a clump of crystalized particles that dissolved when they met his tongue. A green energy wave went over his body that gradually healed the wounds that he sustained, until they were all patched up and almost gone.

"There we go, now for good measure. This will fix you right up." Wendy started using her Healing Magic, using green energy she emitted to heal up Charmeleon's remaining injuries.

"Wendy, be careful. Don't use your magic too much than you absolutely must." Carla reminded.

Wendy glanced at her. "I know, Carla. I'll be careful."

Natsu stepped forward, giving his healing Pokémon an earnest look. "You're going to be just fine, Charmeleon…I promise you this time."

Charmeleon gratefully smiled back at him, feeling the stress and the pain fading from his body at long last. He shifted a look over towards Darumaka and Tyrunt, the latter sniffing Arcelia out of curiosity, much to her discomfort. Even though it felt like Natsu depended too heavily on him before, now, seeing that he had a better level of consideration, he didn't need to worry as much anymore. He could depend on the others to pick up the slack for him.

"…thanks. I'm in your care, guys."


Deeper in the main streets of the chaotic urban jungle, there was another battle taking place; one in particular having a certain mage caught between a rock and a really hard place. Literally.

Said mage was Gray Fullbuster, along with his Snover, Bergmite, and Snorunt. The four had no choice but to stand ground against the red-eyes that spelled challenge loud and clear that no words were needed to describe. Akando's sharp canines were visible as his annoyed frown turned to a taunting smirk.

"Heh, well look who we have here…" The Midnight Lycanroc's tone was no less sardonic as before. "The icy boonie weaseled out into the open. As if dealing with you once wasn't enough."

Gray frowned. He remembered his opponent all too well. He could still remember that Rock Slide that knocked him for a loop last round. This time, he made sure he wouldn't be taken by surprise like that again.

"Funny you should say that. I've been meaning to give you a piece of my mind, after what you did to us last time."

Akando sneered. "You don't say? Still salty about getting your ass handed to y'a, so you'll take advantage of that to get the upper hand. I see how it is. I can read you like a book." He started spreading his legs, hunching his back forward. "And let me tell you, it's a poor read."

"Well let me fill you in on a little something about this book…" Gray started putting his hands together, making the air temperature drop. "Don't just judge it based on its cover and a few short pages alone! Ready?!"

"Right!" Snover, Bergmite, and Snorunt all shouted.

Snover huffed before he spread his arms. A mist exploded from his entire body, dropping the temperature by a few more degrees. As it diffused into the atmosphere, hail began falling in the area from the activated Snow Warning Ability.

With the hail falling, Gray noticed some white static to flourish on Akando. "Now that's more like it." He brought his enclosed hands forward to project his ice.

"Ice-Make: Lance!"

He unleashed multiple lances of solid ice that spearhead through the falling hail directly for Akando. They closed in at an alarming rate, but Akando scowled before raising his arms overhead. A ring of gray energy orbs materialized that quickly turned to gray, hardened stones with a white outline. They plummeted straight below between Akando and Gray, intercepting the lances by taking them instead. Some of the stones instantly shattered, but many more took abundance and stockpiled while freezing at the same time. By the time Gray's spell had let up, a large blockade of frozen rocks mounted between the two parties.

Akando sneered with his red eyes glowing. "Too slow."

Gray's eyes squinted as he grunted low.

Akando felt the hail fall on him, causing small white sparks to flourish and make him twitch. "Tch, you think you can rely on the weather like you did before, do ya? You should have counted your paces, you boony." He reached back and pulled out a Human Cube. Without a word of warning, he tossed it up, making it open to expel energy into his human partner standing before him.

Standing upright with a curt grin, Zestyr greeted his master cordially. "You summon me, Master?"

"Yes, I most certainly did." Akando lowered his head as his eyes flashed again. "This time, make sure they stay buried."

Zestyr's grin widened. "As you wish."

Akando pointed at the massive wall of frozen rocks towering straight ahead of them. "Now…use Soft Collapse!"

Zestyr wordlessly responded by moving his right hand towards the massive blockade before him. The moment he touched the icy cold, hard substance, a silver-green magic seal appeared and emitted a distorted wave through the entire structure's entire body. In an instant, the ice and rock began to liquify and gradually melt upon itself, turning into an unstable mound that had more momentum towards Gray and his Pokémon.

Gray's eyes widened. "What the-?!"

Akando's canines showed. "The bigger they are, the harder they'll fall…"

True to form, the monstrous mound of oozing clay and sloshy, liquid ice started falling down onto the Fairy Tail Mage. While he was a safe distance away from being crushed directly, the avalanche of ooze rushed in his directing, threatening to swamp him with heavy sediment and ice. To avoid that, he braced himself with a defense.

"Ice-Make: Rampart!"

He spread his arms apart, summoning a massive, thick wall of ice that stood between his party and the oncoming tsunami of slosh. The streets flooded with the soft substance in an instant as it splattered on the pavement and barreled towards Gray, but the entirety of it was completely shielded and blocked off between two buildings that the rampart was positioned.

"Hard to bury us when you can't reach us, huh?" Gray taunted, grinning.

Akando returned the gesture in kind. "Heh, whoever said that we needed to reach you?" He turned towards his human. "Now Zestyr, use Land Soften!"

"Of course, as you wish."

Akando took the little time he had to backpedal from the area. Zestyr remained still as a silver-green magic seal expanded from beneath his feet and emitted a distorted wave through the pavement of the street. The wave went beneath the sloshy sediment, as well as beneath Gray and the others present. The moment the wave phased through, their footholds collapsed into the muck.

"O-oh no!" Snover yelped, feeling his lower half sink into the softened cement.

"Not good. Not at all." Bergmite stagnantly responded.

"Aw, again?! I hate this trick! I hate sinking!" Snorunt complained frantically.

Gray gritted his teeth as he looked down to fin himself ankle-deep in the cement that composed the street. 'This same trick again. Just like last time.'

He recalled how the constant softening of the ground and his ice was a deterrent to him last time. It was such a hassle to put up with. Even though he could make footholds of ice, he was certain those wouldn't last long either.

In his struggles, Snover's attention drew towards the growing shadow looming above his head. "Uh, Gray…?"

Speaking of ice, the rampart's foundation began to heavily depreciate into the mucky ground. With it liquifying, it started to lean backwards onto Gray and his Pokémon. The Ice Mage gasped when he saw how gradually it was starting to collapse.

'He didn't touch my ice to soften it…he softened the ground instead to make it lose balance! I get what he meant now!'

He had little time to act as the rampart came crashing down over their heads. Snorunt especially yelled in horror, but Bergmite was stagnant and emotionless the whole way. Gray opted for a quick defense.

"Snover, quick! Use Razor Leaf!"

"H-Huh?! Okay!" Knowing he didn't have much room to hesitate, Snover's arms glowed bright green as he swung them forward. An array of bright green, glowing, shredding leaves spun rapidly through the air up towards the falling rampart.

The leaves shot through the large wall and began cutting a sizeable amount of it into smaller pieces. The majority of the ice continued falling past Snover's attack in heavy fragments that threatened to crush them, however.

Gray brought his hands together and kept his balance the best he could as the pieces drew closer.

"Ice-Make: Knuckle!"

He manifested large pillars of ice around himself with curved ends forming into large fists. The dense, icy knuckles met the falling chunks of ice and shattered them to pieces that fell around them into the slosh, much like rain.

With a little room to breathe, Gray let out a deep breath. "That was a close one…" He felt his left leg sink a little deeper, causing him to buffer. He snapped back to the reality of the situation around him. 'That's right, we're still stuck. Talk about a pain in the ass.'

Akando and Zestyr winced when the hail continued falling, inflicting only a little damage to them.

"Graaaah!" Akando's eyes flashed for the umpteenth time as he hollered in annoyance. "They say history repeats itself…let's test that theory, shall we?" He swung his left arm up, before bringing it down. "Rock Slide!"

Gray's eyes widened upon realization. 'Wait, when did-?!' By the time he looked up, he noticed that gray stones were already falling right his head. 'He used my own attack as a diversion to buy time to make more rocks! This Pokémon…'

The falling rocks met the knuckles and long arms to Gray's previous attack. They continued landing and crushing them, allowing more open space for more rocks to fall straight down onto the trapped opponents.

Akando watched with an expectant sneer, his red, angry eyes squinting as the pupils sharpened. "What did I say…humans always repeat history."

Suddenly, a massive arrow of ice shot up from the muck around Gray, towering right behind him. It suddenly jettisoned and extended towards the rocks so fast that Zestyr and Akando had small partial gasps.

"What?!"

"Ice-Make: Gungnir!"

The dense arrow spiked skywards, spearheading straight into the Rock Slide with a sharp, dense tip of pure ice. The makeshift arrow pierced and shattered the rocks one by one, reducing them to smaller fragments that rained down and splashed into the soft ground around Gray and his Pokémon. Some were far too close and splashed directly beside them, while others deflected completely towards Akando and Zestyr's direction.

"Zestyr, Soft Shield!" Akando panicked.

In a swift motion via haste, Zestyr followed his Trainer's command and motioned his arm in front. A silver-green magic seal appeared before him that took up a large radius and was positioned before the falling rocks. The shattered pieces went through the magic seal and came out as rubbery, soft, gray clay that splattered at Zestyr's feet, leaving puddles of the substance around their feet that was quick to cool thanks to the hail and cold atmosphere.

"You've got a lot to learn about humans, namely me."

Akando and Zestyr stared forward, seeing Gray gradually standing up with a neighboring shattered rock piece as a foothold. His ankles downwards had mushy sediment and slosh that would eventually dry up, but it was enough to keep him out of danger of being trapped again.

"For starters, I don't make the same mistake twice. My eyes were wide open that time." Gray added.

Akanado sneered, his anger boiling as hail started pelting him yet again, inflicting more damage. "You bloody hooligan…"

"I got your style down now. You like to soften the field so your opponents can't make any advances towards you. And once they're trapped, you like to finish them with that Rock Slide trick. That's your go-to basis. Like I've said, I've already seen this trick once, so sticking with the same trick isn't gonna work this time."

"Hehe! They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks! Maybe that's what's happening here!" Snorunt beamed jovially.

"Uh, I thought that it was you can teach an old dog new tricks?" Snover sidenoted awkwardly.

"Oh, whatever! Same thing!"

"Contradictory points made." Bergmite noted.

Akando frowned heavily as he took a moment to analyze the layout. All around them, the ground was still mush, so closing that gap physically to get a good hit in wouldn't be a wise idea. And if he went for Rock Slide again, Gray could just counter. His fur prickled badly with his annoyance.

'First thing's first. That Zestyr…he's gotta go first.' Gray's thoughts immediately shifted towards said opponent. "Alright, let's show them our own tricks! Bergmite, Snorunt, Icy Wind!"

The two Pokémon braced themselves as the horn and mouth respectively glowed bright, icy blue. They both got to the tips of their feet before pressing hard on their footholds. They expelled cold winds with sparkling blue specks that blew across the street into Zestyr, who stood firm as it drew closer.

The winds met their marks, making a dense breeze that had enough force to buffer the Softening Mage back a few feet. Even when he brought up his forearms to block the dense cold air, it was still intense. An equally dense blue aura engulfed his body, reducing his Speed.

Akando was a safe distance away from the density of the breeze itself, but his fur still prickled from how cold it was.

"Alright, let's make sure he stays down this time." Gray swiped his arm. "Snover, use Grass Whistle!"

Snover braced himself as one of his leafy hands glowed bright green. He raised it to his nonexistent mouth and took a sharp breath before exhaling into his flimsy fingers. He emitted a loud, eerie chime that blew through the Icy Wind and carried its way towards Zestyr. With the wind being so expansive, the sound had plenty of room within its area to filter and reach his ears.

'He's using his own attack to guide the Grass Whistle towards a specified direction?' Akando would have been impressed if it wasn't so annoying. His claws curled up in aggravation. "Move it, now!"

Zestyr made an attempt to step back from the howling cold, but the fact that he was slowed considerably from it made it that much harder to pull out of its range. Snover continued producing the eerie melody from his arm that echoed through the wind that he couldn't escape from. It was quick to make his eyes heavy and lose focus, until it was where he couldn't help but fall to his knees.

Gray's eyebrow twitched. 'Got him!'

"Why…why am I feeling so…exhausted?" Zestyr mumbled, before his conscience gave into the slumbering cold. With a thud, he laid on his stomach as the Icy Wind finally let up.

"Damnit!" Akando cursed.

Gray brought his hands together overhead and conjured more ice, slamming it into the soft ground.

"Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!"

Ice suddenly appeared and froze the ground beneath the sleeping Zestyr. The land shuddered briefly before ice suddenly engulfed him and trapped him in a towering geyser of solid ice. The massive structure held the sleeping Zestyr in place high at its pinnacle in a frozen, sleeping stasis.

Gray lifted his head, smirking with a hint of satisfaction. "He can't get out so easily if he's asleep now."

Akando looked up at the frozen geyser of ice, its top having his human captive. Suffice to say he didn't look very pleased. He scoffed as hail pelted him yet again, making him wince.

Gray put his hands together once more, creating a large kite of ice that he immediately jumped on. His Pokémon all got on as well and took off in a shallow glide across the surface of the mucky surface until solid land was directly below, The four all jumped off and landed at the same time, with Gray taking the front by a few paces.

"Now…I say we put this angry mutt on ice, and then go find the others. What do you say to that?"

Akando scoffed. "You think that you can beat me that easily? Heh…don't be so arrogant. Remember who you're talking to here. I'm one of the Twelve Apostles. If you really think that a little cold and a tune is enough to put me under, then I think you're punching way above your weight class, louse."

"Says the 'mon who's been calling us hooligans and boonies the whole time. You think we're not that bright, yet we still managed to reach your little island haven."

For a moment, Akando and Gray shared a pause. It was enough time to allow them to process the hail's momentum finally letting up. The temperature in the air rose by a few degrees as Snover's Snow Warning ultimately diminished.

Akando's eyes narrowed. "Touché. I don't normally like to get too handsy at first. I like to bring the fight to me. But you…I'll make an exception." He balled both his paws as he focused energy into them. The louder he snarled, the more he built up, until an orange aura flourished around his entire body. The aura faded, revealing the same aura enveloping both his fists.

Gray and his Pokémon looked mildly startled by this, realizing the gravity of the situation unfolding.

"Uh, what's happening now…?" Snover worried.

"Going on offense. Be wary." Bergmite forewarned.

Gray tightened his lips as he recognized that aura before. 'That move…' He thought back to when Akando used that same trick last time, and how he ended up feeling an immense amount of pain. He still felt it in his gut. 'That's gotta be Reversal.'

"Thanks for chipping away at me like you did with all that hail…now be a good bunch and stay down!" Akando made a hectic rush for Gray and his Pokémon, moving surprisingly quick on his feet to close the gap.

"Snover, Snorunt! Ice Shard!" Gray ordered.

Snover and Snorunt both reeled their bodies back at the same time, their mouths – be it nonexistent or unable to open – manifested cold ice that launched icy projectiles like missiles at an alarming pace. The twin priority Ice attacks barreled through the air and homed in on the oncoming Rock-type.

Akando didn't flinch, not even for a second. He furiously dealt blows and jabs as he continued running his course after his opponents. No matter how much ice came his way, he punched through it and drew closer, surprising Gray and the others.

When the last of the ice let up, there were no obstructions between Akando and them. The former lunged with his orange fist pulled back, but Gray, Snover, and Snorunt had enough time to pull away. The only one who didn't was the stiff Bergmite, who was open to the attack.

"Quick, use Curse!" Gray ordered.

Bergmite complied without hesitation. His body emitted a blue aura, slowing down his movements. A red aura then enveloped him, empowering his Attack and Defense. Akando's Fighting-type move immediately made impact a moment later, meeting Bergmite's icy body with the super-effective Fighting-type move. However, the move wasn't as strong as warranted, as Akando's stamina wasn't anywhere near depleted as it should be for an effective blow. Add to the extra Defense boost Bergmite received just now, it hardly did much.

"You think a little block of ice can stop me?!" Akando reeled back his other glowing fist. Once again, he slugged forward with his Reversal directly into Bergmite's face to a loud thud against his frigid exterior. Then again, and again, and again; nonstop barrages of his Reversal that had each blow hitting his body relentlessly.

Even though he had extra endurance to support himself, Bergmite still felt the blows one after another. It gradually wore him down as he stood there and took them all.

When Akando pulled back his left claw for another blow, he felt a cold, icy stings that went right into his arm. He held his tongue and angrily looked over his shoulder to find his left arm bitten into by Snorunt with his Bite, latching onto his arm with all his might.

"The hell are you? I'm not a popsicle!" Akando backlashed.

"Ice Fang!" Gray hastily shouted.

With Akando distracted, his right arm was stuck out long enough for Bergmite to reach. The front of his body emitted a blue glow that quickly lowered in temperature to solid ice. Four icy aura fangs appeared around the front that made for makeshift teeth that he clutched like a vice onto the arm, making ice erupt on the paw.

Akando felt another sense of pain at the attack. His right arm was pinned by Bergmite, and his left was weighed heavily by Snorunt. He struggled to get either off, but found it hard to do with both arms restrained.

Gray used the opportunity to bring his hands together to make another spell of ice as he closed the gap.

"Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur!"

Gray's ice molded into a large longsword with a sharp edge to it. He drew closer as Akando caught onto his onslaught. As Gray readied a swing, time slowed down for Akando to quickly calm down and smirk.

Suddenly, he kicked the ground with his feet, picking up thick sand that hurled directly into Gray's face. Though it was a quick and shallow maneuver, it was enough effort to make Gray shut his eyes as a blue aura enveloped him, lowering his accuracy.

Snover fretted at the play. "That looked like Sand Attack…just like he used one me…Gray!"

Akando snarled as he swung his left arm in front of him, dragging Snorunt in the line of fire. With Gray's vision blurred, he couldn't see where he was swinging and followed through, unknowingly – and consequentially – slashing Snorunt with the brunt edge of the Excalibur that made a burst of icy shards upon impact.

"GAAAH~!" Snorunt went flying through the air, doubling over with a loud thud on the ground.

"Oh no! Snorunt!" Snover panicked.

"Gngh, what happened?!" Gray's vision was blurry, but he managed to open an eye. "Did I accidentally hit Snorunt?!"

Akando sneered with sickening glee. With his left arm free, he turned back towards Bergmite, who still bit into him. "Now you…" His left fist balled again, flaring orange energy that was much denser than last time. "I'll give you something to chew on…HRAH!" With a powerful Reversal, the Fighting-type move did more damage then before thanks to the previous attacks. The impact struck Bergmite's head so hard that it forced him to let and ended up sliding several feet back into a chunk of ice. He crashed into it with enough force to leave a sizeable dent in it.

Gray used his arm to wipe out the sand. Once it was out, he saw that Akando was turned towards him with his claws coated in Reversal energy. "Dirty trick…now take this!"

"GRAH!" Akando pulled his fists back and sprung forward, meeting Gray's Cold Excalibur with a frenetic swipe. The collision brought them to a stalemate, followed by a cold gust of air throughout the street.

The two held their positions firmly for what felt like an eternity. Through the whole exchange, neither's eyes pulled away from the other as Gray's eyes met the fiery fury of Akando's pupils. It was like battling a feral animal sort of speak. But even so, it didn't deter Gray from pushing against his foe and going for another sweep. Akando obliged with a parry to the makeshift sword, then another, then another, and then by a third strike, the ice started to crack from constant pressure.

"GRAAAAHH!" With one more swing, Akando backhanded the ice blade's blunt edge, causing the entire thing the bisect in two. The icy front fell to the ground as the guard half dissipated from Gray's hand.

"So strong…" Gray marveled. He hastily stepped back from Akando to avoid another energy swipe that nearly grazed the thin ends of his spiky hair.

Gray took a spare moment to catch his breath and adjust his fighting stance. He was starting to get tired…and it didn't help the blow he took back in the forest earlier started throbbing again.

'Damnit, of all times…gotta end this fast!'

Akando noticed his opponent's wary disposition. He was willing to take advantage of that and take him down. He readied himself to counter whatever would come his way, but a cold, crisp air blasted against his back. He gawked as he nearly fell forward if not for catching himself.

"Who the hell is…!" He turned back towards the wake of the cold wind, recognizing the white snowy tree from the distance. "You!"

As Snover was blowing is Icy Wind, he noticed Akando's body being surrounded by a blue aura, hinting his Speed loss. That was all he needed. "Gray, go!"

Akando gasped.

"Got it!" Gray shouted, manifesting more ice. "Ice-Make…"

Overhead, a massive hammer of pure, heavy ice hung over Akando's head. His pupils shrank as he saw the looming threat that was about to come down on him. He was ready to put up another Reversal…but his body was too slow to react. The damn Icy Wind took its toll!

"…ICE HAMMER!"

The massive ice hammer came down on the Midnight Lycanroc with force so strong that the ground sundered heavily. The pavement beneath shattered and sent debris and fragments of ice past Gray's feet to the far corners of the block. Misty shockwaves blew past Snover, Bergmite, and Snorunt as they were all keeping their heads down to avoid the full brunt of the attack.

After a while, the wake had finally diminished, with the ground having been covered in a thick layer of frost surrounding Gray. He panted heavily as he dispelled the hammer and saw his opponent lying in a heap of ice. His mane cast his eyes in dark shadows, so he couldn't make out if he was unconscious or not. But if his body being half-buried in ice meant anything, it was that he had gotten the upper hand on him.

He straightened his back, looking over Akando's limp frame with a cold glare. "How's that for a twist?" he spoked. "Like I said, you can't judge me based on a few pages. You have no idea about what kinds of people I've had to face to get to where I am now. But no matter who it was…I made sure to get it through their heads to not mess with me, or even my friends."

Snorunt groaned as he struggled to stand. "D-did we get him yet…?"

"I…hopefully." Begmite shuddered, barely able to stand. Compared to Snorunt and Snover, he was in much worse shape.

Snorunt fell onto his back in relief. "Good…because I could really use some ice to eat right about now."

"I…require Super Potion."

"That too…"

Snover sighed in relief as he turned towards Akando. "Well, hopefully we don't hear from him again."

"If that doesn't do the trick, I don't know what will." Gray noted. He stared at the Lycanroc for a few moments before choosing to focus elsewhere. "You guys need Super Potions, right? I think I got some."

As he walked away from Akando, his footsteps grew fainter and fainter by the second. Every step turned to an echo that rung in Akando's ears that reverberated to the darkest reaches of his mind. As he laid in agonizing pain, still half-buried in ice, his mind was channeling what he heard Gray said earlier.

"Like I said, you can't judge me based on a few pages."

It was subtle – very subtle – but beneath his rocky mane, the corner of his mouth bared his teeth. 'At least…I make an attempt to read…not like you humans do…'


A powerful hit caused a Rockruff to be sent flying backwards, howling in pain. The Rock-type doubled over before landing on his side with a thud in the dry dirt and grass surrounding the area.

"Rockruff, you okay?!" The call came from Rockruff's trainer, which was a young male Trainer with tanned skin, evident from the sun that beamed down from the Alolam skies above. His clothing was simple cargo shorts and a tank top to help him stay cool, even more now that he was in the confines of Walo Volcano Park.

Rockruff grunted as he recovered from that previous hit. He staggered back to his four paws and shook his head. He angrily turned back towards the Magmar that landed that punch just now. "(Lucky shot. You won't get another one!)"

His Trainer pointed at the wild Magmar. "Use Rock Throw!"

Rockruff barfed before jumping into the air. The wild Magmar watched as the canine lifted his tail and manifested multicolored orbs revolved around its end. The orbs diverged and became white sparkles that solidified into small gray rocks that hung around Rockruff. When he turned his body to fire them, the stones shot like missiles at the Magmar.

Magmar looked too shocked to make a proper counter or dodge. The stones all fell upon him, pelting his heated body with enough force to ground him. With one more stone to the stomach, a harsh shock went through him that made him black out on the spot.

Rockruff landed on the ground, standing before his defeated foe in pride. "(How's that?)"

"Now that's more like it! Wait a go, Rockruff!" The Trainer smiled brightly as he walked over towards his Pokémon to congratulate him. "That was better than last time. Last time, it took two shots to finish a Magmar, this time it was just one."

"(Hehe, I think Defense has a role in this too, but whatever…I'll take it!)" he quipped.

The Trainer reached into his bag and pulled out a Super Potion. He made sure to shake it up before turning to apply it towards his Rockruff. The latter winced only slightly, but remained calm throughout the medical procedure. In a few seconds, the injuries he sustained during the battle were soon healed.

"There, alright then, let's get back at it! Let's go clear this trial, what do you say?"

"(You bet!)"

To say Rockruff was ecstatic would be putting it…subliminally. As a Rockruff, he was caught by his Trainer on Terra Cota Hill in a fair and square battle. Though, if he was honest, he wasn't against the idea of being caught by a human. At the time, he thought nothing of it, actually it worked out for him. Because of that, he was able to have a lively adventure.

Traveling from Melemele Island to Akala Island was an adventure by itself for the little Rockruff, and he wasn't alone on this adventure either. He got to travel besides all sorts of Pokémon that his Trainer had caught on his Grand Trials quest. From Pokémon like Grubbin, to Alolan Grimer, to Magnemite, heck, even to some of the more lackluster ones like Slowpoke. They were all nice Pokémon, and they were sociable and hard-working, just like Rockruff, so there wasn't anything to complain about them.

In short, life was fulfilling.

At the moment, the Alolan Trainer was taking a break after just getting to Konikoni City. He was in the northern section of the city where the lighthouse was at and found a table to sit and have his lunch. Meanwhile, this left his current team of Pokémon to eat and recharge their batteries.

Rockruff licked his lips after swallowing his plate of Pokémon Food. "(Mmmm! That hit the spot!)"

"(Geez, you wolfed that down. Someone's hungry.)" Torracat chimed besides him.

Rockruff shot him a knowing look. "(Was that pun intended?)"

Torracat eyerolled. "(Nyah~, just rolled off the tongue. But, in all seriousness, you've been battling a lot. That last tussle with that Herdier was really tough.)"

Rockruff huffed out his nose. "(I know, right. I really hate to say it, but if it wasn't for Grimer poisoning him when he did, I'm not sure we would have won.)" He shot a glance over at Grimer, who was busy stuffing his face with litter and trash that his Trainer had been stockpiling and collecting for him to consume. He seemed so engrossed in his meal that he didn't even notice he was referred to just now.

"(Hm? Did you guys say something?)"

"(Oh, nothing important.)" Rockruff waved a paw. '(Geez, sometimes he's even slower than Slowpoke sometimes.)'

"(Hey, you should be close to that point soon, right?)" Charjabug chimed in. "(I evolved just in time before I had to face that giant water spider…oof, still gives me nightmares.)"

A Tauros whipped his tails. "(I know, right? Still consider it lucky that my Anger Point kicked in when it did.)"

"(Hehe…I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that Horn Attack.)" Rockruff nervously noted. "(But yeah, I'm really excited. I can't wait! I hope to be a Midday Lycanroc very soon!)"

Torracat looked over, raising a brow. "(Midday Lycanroc?)"

"(If I remember, you guys get different forms when you evolve, that right? I'm curious though, why are you leaning towards one of those forms in particular?)" Steenee asked, tilting her head.

Rockruff traced his right paw in a circle beneath him, looking bashful as he tried coming up with a good answer. "(W-well…I mean, it just feels like the best choice for me. Don't get me wrong, those Midnight Lycanroc are tough and all, but they can be really scary…plus I heard they're grumpy all the time. I wouldn't want to be like that.)"

The other Pokémon around looked at each other for a moment, processing what Rockruff was saying. For a moment, nothing happened until Grimer turned back with a smile.

"(Well, if that's really what you're aiming for…guess all we can do is hope for the best!)" The Poison/Dark-type smiled.

"(I've never seen a Lycanroc before, but hey, there's always a first time for everything.)" Steenee chimed with a bright grin.

Rockruff's tail wagged left and right. He felt more excited than ever with everyone looking supportive of him. "(Heck yeah! Once I evolve, I'll be even stronger! Just watch me!)"

During the whole exchange, their Trainer was watching with a smile of his own. "Nice to see them all getting along…" He turned his attention towards the sheet that sat on the table with a sharpie pen in hand. He had a list of Pokémon that were presumably his own. "Okay, so maybe I can deposit Tauros for my Slowpoke since he'll be helpful against the Island Kahuna, and maybe my Diglett too…now I just need a good training spot."

It just so happened that the training spot was, coincidentally, Akala Outskirtsl. There were plenty Pokmon there, ranging from those like Gumshoos, to Stufful. The latter in particular were ones that had the Trainer's fancy, especially for their Fluffy Ability.

Still, despite having a few good catches of his own, it didn't deter him from going through with his plans of training. From dusk to the depth of night, the Trainer was making sure to get enough experience for his current team. That went without say for Rockruff.

Though, as much as Rockruff enjoyed a good fight, he wasn't very pleased with his circumstances.

"Alright Slowpoke, return!" The Trainer recalled his injured Slowpoke back to his Premier Ball. Once he was safely inside, he reached back and pulled out a Poke Ball. "Alright, go! Rockruff!"

The Poke Ball spun as it was thrown out, expelling Rockruff in midair. With a bark, he landed on his four paws against the wild Nosepass. It had already taken some damage thanks to Slowpoke's Water Pulse, but it was still able to battle.

"You ready to go?" The Trainer encouraged him.

"(Yeah, sure thing!)" Rockruff's eager bark wasn't as exuberant as it usually was; in fact, there was more reluctance in it than focus. He looked up towards the night sky, realizing the time of day it was. '(It's night…I'm so anxious. If I evolve now…)'

The Trainer pointed at the Nosepass. "Use Bite!"

'(Whatever…I'll just have to finish this fast!)' Rockruff pounced off his feet and lunged for the Compass Pokémon against him. His jaws opened wide as the fangs glowed brightly. With a vindictive snap, he landed a powerful blow on the wild Nosepass, causing it to stumble back and cringe.

"It's flinching! Quick, follow up with Rock Tomb!"

Rockruff furrowed his brow, momentarily hesitating before complying. His body outlined in a gray energy as the rocks on his neck shined brightly. He raised his head as a ring of large gray rocks with outlines appeared overhead. He jumped in between the large ring and whipped his tail, directing all of them at Nosepass below.

With it flinching, the Nosepass was helpless it was bombarde by the rocks, pummeling it to where dust exploded with each rock against its equally rock-hard body. Rockruff landed on his paws and saw the dust clear out, revealing Nosepass on its back, fainted.

"Alright, nice follow up there!" The Trainer commended. "Keep that up and we'll have no trouble against Olivia."

Rockruff looked back, visibly wary. "(Yeah, sure…)" He was hoping that his Trainer would return him to his Poke Ball. He didn't want to battle right now, nor was it the best time to do so. If he was frank, he was expecting him to get the hint right then and there just from seeing his frown.

But, he didn't. And that only made Rockruff more worrisome.

His attention turned from his Trainer, who ventured further into the tall grass, towards the twinkling Alolan night sky. He had to admit, the stars were very pretty. He'd love to enjoy looking at them with calm blue eyes…or so he'd hope.

But reality had other plans.

Late into their nightly training, Torracat yelped as he was thrown onto his back from a wild Alolan Raticate's recent attack. He slid across the ground to a stop in front of his Trainer. He grunted heavily as he felt intense pain.

"Torracat!" The Trainer panicked. He balled his fists as he looked worried. 'Aw man, this isn't good. The others took way too much damage. I guess…' He looked down at Rockruff, who stood beside him with displeasure. "Rockruff, I need you to switch in there."

"(Huh?!)" Rockruff barked with shock. "(But…I don't really want to…can't this wait till morning at least?!)"

"(Rockruff…)" Torracat grunted low. He understood where Rockruff was coming from, but wasn't able to muster the strength to defend for himself.

"What's the problem, don't think you're up for it? It shouldn't be that hard, Torracat landed some good damage for you to finish it."

Rockruff frivolously shook his head. "(No, that's not it at all!)"

The Trainer still didn't read between the lines. "(C'mon, it's just one little battle. You can take it, I promise I'll feed you extra when we go back to the Pokémon Center."

Rockruff pouted in disappointment. He didn't like how his Trainer wasn't reading his dilemma, let alone giving him a chance to explain. He drooped his head as he sauntered towards the battle lying ahead. "(…at least try to read the mood.)" he pouted.

Still, despite his chagrin, Rockruff picked up where Torracat left off. Despite his current state, he was able to hold ground against the wild Raticate, with thanks to hurling sand to help reduce accuracy. There were plenty of close calls, but despite taking some damage from a Bite, Rockruff yelped it off and kept one eye open the whole way.

During the exchange, only one thought echoed in his head. '(Please don't evolve now, please don't evolve now…!)'

With the Raticate lunging for a Pursuit, his lowered accuracy and blurred vision made him misstep, allowing Rockruff a chance to use his back as a springboard and get above him.

"Now, finish with Rock Tomb!"

Rockruff's body gave off a whitish-gray outline yet again. With a loud yelp, he manifested large stones and threw them down onto the wild Raticate. The results were instantaneous as they landed their marks with dust and dirt erupting.

When Rockruff landed on the ground in front, he felt his heart lighten a bit more when the dust settled. To his utter relief, he saw the wild Raticate laying on his stomach, swirls in his eyes to show that he was unconscious.

He sighed heavily. "(Thank Arceus that's over…)" He turned towards his Trainer, looking desperate. "(Look, everyone's tired, and I don't wanna battle anymore! Can we please just go back to town and wait until tomorrow?!)"

The Trainer, however, raised a brow. "Huh? What's wrong, Rockruff? You've been acting really weird the past few nights. Something bothering you?"

"(Dude! Seriously! Are you not getting it?! I can't evolve into a Midday Lycanroc in these conditions! If I keep this up, I'll…)" Suddenly, he trailed off as he felt something off about himself. "(W-what's happening…? Why am I feeling so…)"

Torracat gasped, taking a wary step closer. "(Rockruff…)"

"(T-Torracat…what's going…)" As Rockruff was reaching his paw out, he noticed the energy becoming a bright glow on his body. What remained of his blue eyes poured towards his peers with utter shock. "(Wait…no…)"

"Rockruff-!" The Trainer looked stunned as he witnessed the light engulf his Rockruff. It became so bright that it caused him to cover up his eyes with his forearms.

The light permeated in the small area along the outskirts, briefly illuminating the area with its energetic radiance. As Rockruff's body began morphing from the energy, he was noticeably getting far bigger, with his front paws especially getting larger and sharper, curved claws. He found himself standing in a slouched posture, with the fur on his neck going over his head. When the light dispersed, he stood with his eyes shut, taking on a completely different form.

The Trainer moved his forearm away, staring at the Pokémon that took Rockruff's place. "Rockruff…?" he blinked as the realization finally sank in. "Rockruff…you evolved!"

Torracat was silent. His eyes were wide with worry as he waited for a response.

As Rockruff – now dubbed Lycanroc – slowly opened his eyes, they were brisking a deep, velvet red. They were borderline feral, but all he felt at that moment was a sheer wave of confusion wash over him. "(Huh…? What just happened? Did I really just…evolve?)" He looked down at something bizarre about himself. Almost instantly, he realized that his hands and feet were white. "(My paws…they've gotten bigger…and my legs…am I actually standing up? Am I…supposed to feel this way?)"

"(Uh, L-Lycanroc…?)" Torracat worriedly asked. "(Um…listen…)"

Lycanroc blinked. "(Lycanroc?)" He didn't catch it at first, but the reality of the situation soon sank in. He felt his heart sink from a really bad feeling dawning upon him.

Now that he felt about himself, he was starting to understand the gravity of the situation he was in. The hind legs, the large paws, the mane that went over his head; all these factors that he knew from instinct that weren't attributes to a Midday Lycanroc. And that only made it that much worse for him.

To add salt to the wound, he looked up at the night sky, and right then and there…it all clicked.

"(I…I just evolved…I evolved into a Lycanroc…)" His voice was a mesmerizing slow one filled with disbelief. "(B-but I…)"

"You've evolved! You're a Lycanroc now! Isn't that amazing?!" The Trainer beamed. "Oh man, we are so passing this Grand Trial now!"

Even though the Trainer was happy and motivated, Lycanroc was far from it. He looked like his entire world had just got sucked through a black hole and he couldn't do a thing to stop it. He stared down at his claws again, now shaking with prickling fur from a spike of adrenaline and growing anger that churned with the depressing reality that he was now living.

He evolved alright, but not into the kind of Lycanroc he dreamed of. "(No…no…)"

The Trainer took notice of this strange behavior and frowned. "Huh? Lycanroc…? What's the matter? Aren't you happy…?" He turned towards Torracat. "Hey, what's going on with him?"

Torracat shook his head disappointedly. "(You didn't listen…)"

Unable to hold it in any longer, Lycanroc dropped to his knees, his feral eyes widening as he let out the most painful, despairing shriek that echoed throughout the atmosphere. "(NOOOOOOOOO~!)"


Akando continued his lament in silence as the bittersweet memories he had reached to their boiling point. If one looked closely, they could have made out his spiky mane prickling more than usual.

'Back then…all I wanted was to become a Midday Lycanroc, was that too much to ask? Guess it was for my Trainer. At least my teammates understood me, everyone did…except humans. I've come to terms with how I am now, but…'

"Like I said, you can't judge me based on a few pages."

'…what I can never hope to forgive, is how superficial humans are to their partners' desires. And that…' His red eyes glowed, his feral slits bearing. 'Makes me want to tear the daylights out of them!'

His attention briefly turned towards the large geyser of ice that Gray trapped Zestyr in earlier. Inside, he noticed the human's eyes opening. They met Akando's, and it was as if it clicked.

As Akando glanced over to see Gray walking towards his injured Pokémon, he couldn't help but sneer. 'Your level of understanding us…will never be anything like ours.'

With his conscience back, Zestyr's body gave off a brief silver-green shine, making a distorted wave run through the tower of ice. It quickly liquified to an unstable mush that shook and began faltering onto Gray. By the time Gray felt something head his way, it was too late as he only had a second to glance up and gasp. "What the-?!"

GLOOSH!

An eruptive hammer of towering, icy mush collapsed straight onto him, splattering slushie-like contents everywhere and washing everywhere like a wave. The ground visibly shook from the sheer weight the mass overtook.

"GRAY!" Snover panicked, before the squall of slush struck him. Like a wave, he found himself screaming as he was pushed backwards through the gunk.

Bergmite and Snorunt were more fortunate than their teammate as they were out of range, but the shaking ground and splattering waves made it difficult for them to get up immediately.

In the hammering waves of dense slush, the contents churned for a moment, before Gray's upper body shot out as he gasped for air. He felt his entire ache from the impact, leaving him to process the painful slam while at the same time prying his body free of the gunk.

Akando's hind legs suddenly kicked off the ground, propelling him directly at his target. "The way I am now…"

Gray barely pulled himself out, but was too late when time slowed down for a split second. His pupils shrank as his chest area was exposed to Akando's oncoming punch that was searing in a mix of rainbow and crimson energy. His feral eyes were shaking with potent fury – enough to send a chill down Gray's spine.

"…IS BECAUSE OF YOU IGNORANT LOT!"

Akando's fist endowed in Counter met its mark deep into Gray's torso. An airwave shot clean through the other side of him and dislodged him from the gunk, putting him in suspense for a second as the shock of the blow he dealt to Akando recently was returned to him at twice the force. The momentum finally caught up with him, sending him speeding across the street at a breakneck flight path clean through solid ice chunks and street debris, until he met a three-story building's wall. He smashed back-first into it with force that made a dense crater in the thick brick. Gray's mouth spewed blood as he felt his insides scream in riling agony from the blow.

Snover, Bergmite, and Snorunt were all at a loss for words. If they had mouths, they would have slacked their jaws to show their shock and horror at what they just witnessed. But their bodies were still badly damaged for them to do any form of rushing towards his aid.

A recently freed Zestyr kept a placid grin on his face as he witnessed the sight to behold. "My, my…Master is certainly riled up now. Your Trainer must have ticked him off."

Akando kept his searing fist out as he labored in breath. His own body ached like hell, but dealing that blow was more than worth it. But still, he wasn't anywhere near satisfied. His piercing glare fixed solemnly on Gray as he snarled and lunged after him.

His body cringing from shock, Gray barely kept hold of his surroundings. He could barely keep an eye open. 'He got me when my back was turned…damnit, that one…really hurt!'

"GRAAAHH~!" Akando's howling grabbed his attention. He saw the Midnight Lycanroc race energetically towards him as a wave of dense orange aura engulfed him like a flare. It faded to reveal his arms endowed in searing, heavily compressed orange energy, via Reversal.

'Not good. Gotta slow him down!' In an attempt to buy time to recover, Gray concentrated to create a solid wall of ice between himself and Akando. The effort proved to be in vain however, as Akando smashed through the solid wall with one punch. It only startled Gray more. 'Seriously?!'

With a vindictive howl, Akando pulled back his right fist and drove it across Gray's face. If it wasn't for the wall behind him bunkering his head, the punch's force would have snapped his neck. Blood splattered from his mouth and nose as the force of the attack felt super-effective. It made him black out for a moment…long enough to dull his sense of pain to the onslaught he was receiving.

Akando didn't stop there. He threw back his left fist coated in orange energy and drove it into Gray's abdomen, making his entire body lurch. The twin impact wasn't nearly enough to satisfy him. Not even close. The Midnight Lycanroc couldn't help but feel this way. He never would have felt so vindictive if he had become a Midday Lycanroc, if his Trainer just caught onto the hints, then he wouldn't be in this situation. He could have continued to battle alongside his Trainer and teammates like nothing had happened. Sure, it would still have been a very disapproving memory for him, but he would have gotten over it. But the more he pummeled Gray, the more those bitter feelings flourished to where it was nothing short of a feral instinct taking over. And if he was honest…he liked it. He loved it. He craved it! To make use of his boiling frustrations of the shorthand he was dealt and turn it into a drive against humanity, that was his motivation in this world. The Apostle never relented his assault, making sure that whatever pain he felt from humans – from life – they would be dealt with it instead.

Sometimes, one had to take a hit to deliver an even bigger one. What was pain would become gain. That was Midnight Lycanroc – Akando. And he would be certain to drill that into his opponents one painful blow at a time.

There was no end to his attacks. Even when Gray's body felt like mush, Akando didn't let up. He went for an uppercut, then a blow to the shoulder, then stomach, then across the face. He was certain Gray was unconscious at this point, but he didn't care anymore. He was going to make an example of what happens to people who don't try to understand him.

With one final fist pulled back, he readied to end it all with the invader. "Like you lot…CAN EVER UNDERSTAND WHAT WE POKÉMON WANT!"

"GRAY!" Snover, Bergmite, and Snorunt yelled.

Time once again slowed down as the fist drew closer towards Gray's face. He barely felt anything, let alone himself. If he was honest, he could have sworn that he had a few broken bones. From his sporadic breathing and panted breaths, he had to have at least a broken rib.

'Everything hurts…'

For a moment, Gray's senses dulled further to where he thought very little of his surroundings. He was on the verge of going into limbo, but a certain blue-haired familiar came to whatever blank imagery was in his mind. He felt his dulling deprivation stop sinking at that moment.

'Juvia…' Thoughts of the woman began flooding his mind. Even though he had been ignorant and uncomfortable of her for so long, he was finally starting to click with her. She suffered enough because of his selfishness. He couldn't do that anymore. Not to her.

"GRAAAH!"

Before the finishing blow could have landed, a sudden wave of intense cold went through the area. "WHAT?!" Akand''s eyes widened as he backpedaled from a shockwave of frozen air that swallowed the area.

Zestyr was behind, covering himself as the cold air went past him. It was so cold that his sleeves were tipped in solid ice – not even his own magic was found able to soften it!

In an instant, the softened areas of the ground had returned to being frozen solid, layered in ice. The entire avenue's ground had dense frost that made it slippery. Even Akando found it so cold that the ends of his fur were covered in ice.

'What's this? This ice…it's so cold. Where did it all…!' He slowly glanced up, his shock turning to disbelief upon seeing a frosty aura surround Gray as he stood with his Devil Slayer marking on his arm flourishing with power. 'What's with that mark? Was he holding back his true power?!'

"…maybe so, but I do understand one thing." Gray found the strength in his legs to stand upright. His hair slicked backwards as his eyes shined demonically. "Being driven by your hatred of others. I've been there before, pal, and trust me, I know how cold of a place that is."

In his mind, he thought about Natsu and Nic. He then recalled his battle against Invel during the Pergrande Kingdom raid when he finally learned to let it go. "You never really understand someone until you've been in their shoes one time. So, just like a certain friend did to me…I'm gonna knock some sense into you."

Akando was shivering, but it wasn't from the bitter cold. His blood boiled through his veins as he was letting some human take advantage of him. He wouldn't accept this – not again!

Gray took in a large inhale of cold air as he adjusted his footing.

"Ice Devil's Rage!"

He opened his maw wide, unleashing a voluminous roar of demonic ice similar to a raging beam. As it shot across the vicinity, the frost on the ground turned to solid ice. Seeing this, Akando's eyes snapped wide open as he barreled out of the way of the beam's wake. It continued its course towards Zestyr, who stood to watch the beaming ice barrel after him.

"Zestyr, Soft Shield! NOW!" Akando roared.

"Of course, Master." Despite how frigid his arms were from the ice thickening his clothing, he managed to jut out one arm at the ice and project another large magic seal to intervene.

The pulsating ray of ice met the shield, causing the brunt of it to liquify in an instant. However, unlike before with many of Gray's other attacks involving ice, this one wasn't liquifying thoroughly. The magic seal was notably gaining frost that melted, but was gradually accumulating more by the second. Meanwhile, shards of the outer wake of the beam sped past the shield, nearly grazing Zestyr's right cheek, drawing blood before it froze.

'This is unheard of. This ice is different somehow…my magic should be softening it in full, and yet…' Zestyr started to show distress, a narrow eye barely opening. 'This magic is much harder to break down entirely. What kind of ice is this?!'

The wake of the ice eventually subsided, barely in fact for Zestyr as his defense had fully froze over. The magic seal had frozen solid before cracking and shattering to fragments, leaving nothing between himself and Gray.

"You asked me what I have to be grateful for before, well now let me answer in full." Gray took a fighting stance, channeling his Ice-Make Magic. However, the Devil Slayer mark was shining brightly, causing the mist to become denser by the second.

'That magic…it's amplifying his original powers?!' Akando grew annoyed as much as he was startled.

"Try and soften all of this!" Gray's hands shined a vibrant icy blue channeled shape at an alarming speed. "Ice-Make Unlimited: One-Sided Chaotic Dance!"

Before Zestyr and Akando, an array of ice sword spiraled around Gray's body like a typhoon, all varying in different sizes. All of them were connected by chains of pure ice, which were enhanced in potency by the Devil Slayer's insignia. The ice spun in a massive swell with a deathly number of prodding blades in all directions. The rate accelerated to the point that it was impossible for even Akando to keep track.

To defend himself, the Midnight Lycanroc bided a defense in the form of another Rock Slide. The numerous rocks shot down from the atmosphere like a ton of bricks – or rather stone in this case. They dropped between himself and Gray. Dozens of dense stones were frozen on the spot and pierced by the icy blades, causing jagged spikes of ice to engulf the area. The rock barricade provided Akando just enough space for him to slide his paws a safe distance across the frosted ground to get out of range of the growing abysmal carnage of ice shards.

Zestyr, on the other hand, was far slower than his Trainer, courtesy to the Icy Wind he took earlier making him less reactive. Still, he held his ground and manifested another magic seal, activating his Soft Shield spell to turn the dancing blades to a slushie pulp. Though it was successful for hundreds of them, the momentum was overrunning the area around the mage's seal and swarmed him.

'No…there's too much…I can't soften it all in time!'

Before Zestyr knew it, it was too late. The swarm of ice blades carved and froze everything in their path, including the mage himself. His body suffered brazen cuts from impact that instantly froze his entire body in thick ice. The look on his horrified face indicated the sheer horror and pain he was in.

It was a clear indication to Gray that he wasn't going to thaw out anytime soon.

The Fairy Tail Mage's glare fixed upon his right. "Now…" He looked past the frozen mountain of rocks and ice, knowing well who was beyond that range. He caught onto a silhouette above that came down onto him with a burning orange aura around the claws and stepped back to avoid the blow. The impact – surprising enough – shattered the ice all around in an intense shockwave that reverberated off the Devil Slayer ice. The sparkling fragments dropped like rain around Gray and Akando as the two adjusted their footing and locked eyes once more.

"COME ON!" With a vindictive howl filled with impatience, the begrudging wolf rushed after him with his fist endowed in Reversal and closed the distance.

"So you wanna finish this up close, do ya? Well, guess I can accommodate that…" Gray tightened his knuckles and enveloped his forearms in dense, icy gauntlets. He pulled back his right fist first and threw it forward with all the retaining force in his torso. The two met dead center, creating an airwave that repulsed everything in a cold shockwave. That went without say for Gray's Pokémon as they kept their distance to conserve whatever little energy they had left.

It became a battle of fists; fists endowed in fury, and those of a resolved conviction. The two forces were in a boxing match where they either evaded or missed, whereas the other went for a counter that was deflected or avoided. In Akando's case, it was his reduced Speed that made it easier for Gray to predict where the punches and swipes would come from. Though in his case, his shots were off mark often due to the Sand Attack. Accuracy and Speed battled each other as they were in a ferocious trade of power with each other.

In his relentless fury, Gray's mind was running on high adrenaline. 'Natsu went through something like this back in Seven. All I have to do is outmaneuver him.' He thought. 'If he can do it…so can I!'

Gray and Akando let out cries of sheer bloodthirst as they were giving it their all against each other. When Akando shot a blow forward, Gray sidestepped and went for a cross that was deflected by the empowered Fighting-type move pushed to the max. Akando then made an attempt to swipe with his other arm, only to be deflected by Gray's other gauntlet.

If there was one word to describe them at that instance, it would be: Relentless.

"GRAAAAAH~!" With one final war cry, the two pivoted on their heels in a mirror fashion. Gray's gauntlets became thicker and extended further up his arms while Akando's orange aura flared to the brightest point possible that it reflected in his feral eyes.

"ICE DEVIL'S ZEROTH DESTRUCTION FIST!"

"REVERSAL!"

The two mighty fists shot at their targets with all the force in their respective sender's body. Their punches collided in a blinding flash, followed by an eruption ice and orange fighting energy reminiscent of an explosion that erupted across the entire avenue. Shattered devil ice flew over Snover, Bergmite, and Snorunt as they were in such deep awe from start to finish. The energy and mist eventually dissipated, leaving a wave of orange, frosty mist to fade into the surroundings.

When they all finally got a good view again, their hearts shot out of their bodies when they saw the center of the attack had Gray and Akando's fists passing the other. Gray's gauntlet was embedded into Akando's chest, leaving it partially frozen. Meanwhile, the Wolf Pokémon's fist was barely a hair's length from reaching Gray's abdomen. Both were stuck in place with their bangs covering their eyes. The silence was deafening as not even the three Pokémon observing could breathe. But eventually, there was a winner.

Gray's gauntlets dispelled from his arms as he sank to a knee. Blood stained the sides of his mouth as he panted heavily from exhaustion and internal damage received. Meanwhile, Akando's aura dissipated, but the wolf refused to budge for several seconds until the Midnight Lycanroc fell onto his stomach with a loud thud.

Gray was too exhausted to turn his head, but if he did, he would have seen his opponent lying on his stomach, swirls replacing his red feral eyes. There was finally a winner in this heinous scuffle.

"H-He did it…he actually did it…" The realization caught up to Snover as his eyes snapped wide open. "GRAY!"

Slowly, the three Ice-types realized the situation and scrambled to get up. Since they had energy left, they could get about, albeit limply, which led them towards their Trainer who was gagging and keeping himself from falling over.

"A-Are you okay?" Snover worried. He worried for a second that Gray wouldn't be responsive, thankfully he was proven wrong.

"Yeah…don't worry. I'm fine…" Still shaky in tone, it was still clear that Gray was exhausted.

"Injuries critical. Serious showdown. Epic." Bergmite stiffly noted.

"Yeah, no kidding! You and that wolf were going at it! I honestly thought it was going to get a lot grizzlier." Snorunt added, earning looks from the others. "What? You guys were thinking the same thing!" He faced his Trainer again. "But seriously though, I can't believe that you beat a Rock-type, that's…that's so cool!"

Gray struggled to breathe, but he still managed a response. "…c'mon. don't sell yourselves short…especially you, Snover…that Icy Wind you did before made the difference…" He thought to the Icy Wind that struck Akando's back earlier when he was focused on Gray. "You guys helped pulled this through…don't forget that…"

Before he could finish his sentence, his voice trailed off to a low mumble. He fell forward with a thud into the ground between his Pokémon, instantly intensifying their worries of him.

"G-Gray?! Gray!" Snorunt hurried over, nudging his Trainer's bruised body. "Hey! D-Don't you fall asleep on us!"

"Severely wounded. Needs medical attention." Bergmite stated, before wincing. "As us."

"Yeah, you're right. We've gotta find a place to wait this out…" Snover looked around, realizing that it might not be long before any Pokémon come around to clean up the mess. If they got sought in their current state, it would be game over. "Snorunt, c'mon!"

Snorunt was absent-minded for a moment, his focus briefly on a stray block of ice that was strewn from the battle earlier. He looked like he wanted to eat it, he truly did. Snover and Bergmite were even ready to chastise him before he forcefully pulled himself away from the temptation.

"…Gray's delicious ice can wait!" Snorunt turned towards Akando, displaying a rare look of pure anger. "Because right now, we need to get him some ice!"

"Snorunt…" Snover was mildly impressed. 'Took him long enough to get his priorities in check. It's like that Happy cat and his obsession with those fish. But Gray does need ice…we better go somewhere cool.'

"Make haste." Bergmite insisted.

The three Pokémon struggled to support their Trainer, but they didn't leave him behind as they all gradually limped away from view, leaving the battlefield with one less Apostle to deal with.

It was still a long battle ahead of them, but they were finally making progress.


Hope you guys enjoyed! Sorry if this was the only update this month. Had a lot of family birthdays, and my sister's wedding too, so that took up the first half of the month. Still, hopefully Natsu and Gray's detailed fights this chapter were worth it!